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for a past academic year. Please see the current academic year for up to date information.
| Unit name |
Statistics & Research Methods |
| Unit code |
MEDIM4003 |
| Credit points |
20 |
| Level of study |
M/7
|
| Teaching block(s) |
Academic Year (weeks 1 - 52)
|
| Unit director |
Dr. Harris |
| Open unit status |
Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None
|
| Co-requisites |
None
|
| School/department |
Bristol Medical School |
| Faculty |
Faculty of Health Sciences |
Description including Unit Aims
- To describe key features of study design and be able to formulate hypotheses and design effective studies to address common research questions
- To describe the core statistical concepts necessary to be able to accurately interpret and present basic statistical analyses
- To be able to review and critically appraise the scientific literature
- To describe the important ethical elements of scientific and medical research
Intended Learning Outcomes
At the end of this unit, students will be able to:
- interpret numerical and graphical summaries of data
- understand the nature of sampling variation and the role of statistical inference in helping to quantify sampling variation draw conclusions from data.
- accurately interpret the results of analyses based on the principles of hypothesis testing (p-values) and estimation (confidence intervals).
- interpret the results from common regression models.
- devise research questions and design effective studies/experiments
- offer a critical appraisal of the research methods elements of published scientific and clinical studies
Teaching Information
- Lectures/seminars
- Synchronous discussion sessions
- Self-directed study
- Asynchronous discussion forums
Assessment Information
Coursework (contributing a total of 60% to the Unit):
(i) Write a short scientific report. This will assess your ability to select and present appropriate statistical analyses, accurately interpret results and draw sensible conclusions (35%).
(ii) Interpret and appraise a scientific paper (25%)
End of unit assessment (40%):
A timed, open book end of unit written assessment.
Reading and References
Students may find the following books useful accompaniments:
- Diggle P, Chetwynd A. 2011. Statistics and Scientific Method: An introduction for students and researchers. OUP.
- Kirkwood BR & Sterne JAC. 2003. Essential Medical Statistics. Second Edition. Blackwell Science.
- Motulsky H. 2014. Intuitive Biostatistics. New York: OUP.
- OpenIntro Statistics. 2nd Edition. (www.openintro.org/stat/textbook.php).
- Petrie A, Sabin C. 2009. Medical Statistics at a glance. 3rd edition. Wiley-Blackwell.
- Webb P & Bain C. Essential Epidemiology: An introduction for students and health professionals. Cambridge.
