Unit information: Applied Health Data Science in 2022/23

Unit name	Applied Health Data Science
Unit code	BRMSM0057
Credit points	20
Level of study	M/7
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12)
Unit director	Dr. Davis
Open unit status	Not open
Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units)	None
Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units)	None
Units you may not take alongside this one	None
School/department	Bristol Medical School
Faculty	Faculty of Health Sciences

Unit Information

This unit aims to introduce students to the use of 'big data' in healthcare including:

• Sources of health data such as electronic health records
• Ethical issues including privacy, consent and data ownership and related mechanisms for data governance
• Reproducible research practices
• Working with large datasets including Linux and high-performance computing
• Critical evaluation of published visual communications of analysis outputs
• Development, documentation, and validation of analysis pipelines in a collaborative environment
• Communication of analysis outputs for various stakeholders (including people from a non-technical background)

Your learning on this unit

On successful completion of the unit, a student should be able to:

1. Write a data management plan for a research proposal for the analysis of a big healthcare dataset.
2. Critically evaluate the challenges and ethical issues related to the generation and use of health data.
3. Write an analysis pipeline using Linux and R.
4. Produce R and web-based data visualisations.
5. Identify and implement approaches for conducting reproducible research

Concepts and methodology will be illustrated using examples from published research.

How you will learn

• There will be 10 teaching weeks.
• Teaching will include learning activities including lectures, small group work, discussions, individual tasks, and practicals.
• Directed and self-directed learning will include activities such as reading, accessing web-based supplementary materials, critical analysis, and completion of assessments.
• 150 hours of directed and self-directed learning. The directed learning includes 50 hours of teaching and the self-directed learning includes activities such as reading, quizzes, and multi-media learning.

How you will be assessed

There will be three types of formative assessments. The first type will support student learning by using informal questioning, quizzes and group exercises in lectures and tutorials. These assessments are for learning and will not contribute to the final unit mark (ILOs 1-5)).

The second formative assessment will be a group exercise where the students are given a research proposal and will need to write a data management plan to accompany it. The data management plan will be a report of between 500 and 1000 words which will focus on how the data will managed and stored, and how the data will be handled and protected during and after completion of a project, and potential for data sharing and access (ILOs 1,2,5). Students will be provided with a model answer to the exercise and will be asked to carry out peer-marking in groups.

The third formative assessment will involve writing an analysis pipeline to load, manipulate and visualise a health dataset using reproducible research approaches (ILOs 3,4).

The summative assessment will consist of two pieces of coursework.

For the first coursework the students will be given a research proposal and will need to write a data management plan to accompany it (50% of unit marks). The data management plan will be a report of between 500 and 1000 words which will focus on how the data will be managed and stored, and how the data will be handled and protected during and after completion of a project, and potential for data sharing and access (ILOs 1,2,5).

The second coursework will involve writing an analysis pipeline to load, manipulate and visualise a health dataset using reproducible research approaches (ILOs 3,4) (50% of unit marks)

An overall score of 50% will be required to pass the unit.

Resources

If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.

If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. BRMSM0057).

How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks, independent learning and assessment activity.

See the Faculty workload statement relating to this unit for more information.

Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit. The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. If you have self-certificated your absence from an assessment, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (this is usually in the next assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any extenuating circumstances and operates within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.