Course type: elective
Lecturer: Gaj Vidmar, Ph.D., Associate Professor
 

For the timeline see Curriculum.

Prerequisites:

• Inscription to the academic year.

Content (Syllabus outline):
Basics of philosophy of science:

• brief overview of history of philosophy, basics of epistemology
• logical fallacies, argumentation

Importance of statistical practice:

• brief history of statistics and ICT
• principles and types of statistical consulting
• good practices and common mistakes in dealing with data
• motivation, emotions and interpersonal communication in professional work

Scientific and technical communication:

• general structure of a research report
• sources of, and finding, scientific information
• technical writing in English
• basics of graphical design
• preparing presentations

Data visualization:

• selected topics from perception and cognitive psychology
• types and selection of data displays
• principles of good data visualization, examples of good and bad practice
• modern analytical displays of large data sets        

Objectives and competences:
The objective of the course is to familiarize the students with the basics of philosophy and psychology required for independent and responsible professional and research work, the importance and types of communication in statistical practice, and the elements and principles of producing various scientific and technical publications.

Intended learning outcomes:
Knowledge and understanding:

• identifying pitfalls and errors in logical inference and argumentation;
• understanding the aim and characteristics of empirical scientific research;
• knowing how to find scientific and technical literature and critically appraise it;
• knowing how to appropriately present statistical data and results of statistical analyses in tabular and graphical form, and interpret them using valid arguments;
• knowing how to present the result of one's individual or collaborative work in the form of posters, technical reports, scientific and technical articles in Slovenian and English language;
• knowing how to submit a project proposal;
• knowing how to prepare an effective public presentation.   

Application:

• retrieval of existing scientific evidence and its critical appraisal;
• preparation of feasible research plans and successful project proposals;
• oral and written reporting at scientific and professional meetings, and publishing in scientific and technical publications.

Reflexion:

• awareness of historical development, limitations and virtues of scientific research methodology;
• awareness of the role of probability and statistics as decision tools in all areas of contemporary society;
• awareness of importance of oral and written communication in research and professional work, including awareness of importance of good language, graphical design and data visualization.

Transferable skills:

• s ability to defend viewpoints through argumentation, practice effective self-criticism and objectively evaluate claims;
• ability to find and critically appraise scientific and technical literature;
• ability to write scientific and technical texts, typeset scientific and technical publications and prepare presentations;
• ability to link theoretical findings from different fields and transfer them to professional practice.