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Merlin
Simple Statistics Software for Biology Students
version 2.5
by Neil Millar
Merlin is our statistics software for biology students.
We use it to make A-level biology statistics as easy
as possible. There are no calculations and no look-up
tables, so students can concentrate on choosing the
right statistical test and drawing the correct conclusion.
By using Merlin, students also improve their ICT skills
and learn to use Excel for drawing charts and presenting
data.
Merlin is now available to anyone, not just Heckmondwike
Grammar School Students.
- Merlin is an add-in for Microsoft Excel, so is
easy to use.
- Merlin is completely free of charge. Copy it
to as many computers as you like.
- Merlin adds over 30 new functions and 6 charts
to Excel's existing capabilities.
- Merlin's functions can be typed in to a cell
like any other function, or inserted using
Excel's function
wizard.
- The statistical functions return P-values
directly from the raw data in one simple
step. No need
for look-up tables, intermediate test statistics
or
degrees of
freedom.
- All Merlin's functions and graphs are dynamic,
which means that the output is updated
automatically whenever
the source cells are changed.
- Merlin includes detailed help for all
the functions and graphs. Just go to
the Help
menu.
- An example Excel spreadsheet demonstrates
the use of each function and graph.
- Merlin also includes a basic introduction
to statistics for biology students.
This includes examples of the
main tests and problems for students
to solve. The introduction is aimed
at A-level
students,
but may
also be useful to undergraduates
and teachers, as well as students studying
social sciences
or geography.
With Merlin, Excel can
draw these charts!
| Box Plot |
Age Pyramid |
Kite Graph |
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| Frequency Histogram |
Food Pyramid |
Mosaic Plot |
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| Bar Chart |
Scatter Graph |
Pie Chart |
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With Merlin, Excel can
do complex statistics with one command!
If you can spell it, you can calculate it.
| Mann-Whitney U-Test |
ANOVA |
X2-Test of Association |
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Merlin's functions include:
| Descriptive Statistics |
Mean
Confidence Interval (small sample confidence interval)
D'Agostino-Pearson Test (test for normality)
Ranking (correctly dealing with ties) |
| Comparative Statistics |
Unpaired t-Test (parametric test for
comparing two groups)
Two-sample z-Test (parametric test for comparing two groups)
Paired t-Test (parametric test for comparing two groups of matched pairs)
ANOVA (parametric test for comparing two or more groups)
Matched samples ANOVA (parametric test for comparing two groups of matched data)
Mann-Whitney U-Test (non-parametric test for comparing two groups)
Wilcoxon Test (non-parametric test for comparing two groups of matched pairs)
Kruskall-Wallis Test (non-parametric test for comparing two or more groups)
Friedman Test (non-parametric test for comparing two or more groups of matched
data)
Chisquared Test (Frequency test for comparing categoric data, with Yates' correction)
G-Test (Frequency test for comparing categoric data) |
| Association Statistics |
Pearson Correlation (parametric test
for correlation, including P-value)
Spearman Correlation (non-parametric test for correlation, including P-value)
Kendall's tau (non-parametric test for correlation, including P-value)
Linear Regression (linear slope and intercept including 95% confidence intervals)
Chisquared Test of Association (association test for frequencies of categoric
data)
Cramer's V (association test for frequencies of categoric data)
G-Test of Association (association test for frequencies of categoric data) |
| Ecology Statistics |
Lincoln-Petersen Population Index (including
95% confidence interval)
Schnabel Population Index (including 95% confidence interval)
Simpson Diversity Index (both 1/D and 1-D)
Shannon Diversity Index (both normal and exponential forms) |
| Charts |
Box Plot; Kite Graph; Mosaic Plot; Food
Pyramid; Age Pyramid and Histogram (a proper
one with correct axis labelling!)
plus easier access to Pie Chart; Bar Chart and Scatter Graph (with error bars
and lines of best fit) |
The compressed file Merlin25.zip
contains the following files:
| merlin.xla |
The Excel add-in |
| merlin_readme.doc |
Instructions for installing and using Merlin |
| merlin_examples.xls |
An Excel spreadsheet showing examples of Merlin's
functions and graphs |
| stats_worksheet.pdf |
Student worksheets on biological statistics |
Merlin is free of charge
for educational and non-profit use. It may be installed
onto school
networks and
students' and teachers' own computers.
Suggestions for improvements
are welcome to nmillar@ntlworld.com
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