In the field of Forensic Toxicology, numerical data and statistics abound, appearing in quantitative analyses, quality control, measurement uncertainty, proficiency testing, method validation, experimental design, peer-reviewed journal articles, business analytics, and more. Foundational statistical knowledge is critical to understanding forensic toxicology work, assessing its significance and reliability, and communicating such to stakeholders. This is not a comprehensive statistics course for forensic toxicologists, nor is it a replacement for formal coursework in mathematics, statistics, or applied statistics. This series attempts to connect statistical terms and concepts to the specific applications of statistics in forensic toxicology in a manner accessible to professionals of all levels of experience. The data and statistical terms commonly encountered in forensic toxicology form the focus of this series.
This six-part series provides a fundamental knowledge base in statistics before advancing into more complex concepts. This series aims to address common questions that arise in forensic toxicology and to increase both the attendees’ confidence of what they know and the awareness of what they have yet to learn. Commonly encountered data types and both descriptive and inferential statistics will be defined and discussed. Practical examples from toxicology applications are presented to help contextualize the terms and concepts.
Session 1: Intro and Basics
Session 2: Distributions & Standard Deviation
Session 3: Statistical Tests and Hypothesis Testing
Session 4: Use of Controls and Other Control Chart Elements
Session 5: Calculation of Type A Data from Control Data for Measurement Uncertainty
Session 6: Let’s Talk About Stats