A Series of Tutorials for Teaching Statistical Concepts in an Introductory Course I. Sampling from an Aerial Photograph

Abstract

This paper outlines one of a series of tutorials developed as part of an introductory statistics course for Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences students. Here we compare two methods of sampling from an aerial photograph to obtain an estimate of the proportion of a particular type of vegetation. One method, transect sampling, is traditionally used by field ecologists, while the other is simple random sampling in a plane. Preparation details and possible extensions to the tutorial are described.

An Active Tutorial on Distance Sampling

“…However these students would need to undertake the full data collection along transects 2 and 3 in order to carry out such an analysis. Bishop (1998) describes extensions associated with the use of parallel transects that could be used here as well.…”

“…These centre on the distribution and visibility of objects in the area and the behaviour of the objects (particularly if they are animals that move around or travel in groups.) Bishop (1998) produced a tutorial comparing transect sampling to random sampling using an aerial photograph. In this paper, we describe an activity that extends data collection to beyond the transect i.e.…”