Statistics: Med Biostat&Epidemiology

Introductory design and analysis of medical studies. Epidemiological concepts, case-control and cohort studies. Clinical trials. Students evaluate statistical aspects of published health science studies. Prerequisite: STAT 1110, STAT 1410, STAT 2430, or STAT 3210.

Prereqs enforced by the system: STAT 1110, STAT 1410, STAT 2430, or STAT 3210; Open to Degree and PACE students

STAT 3000 covers the design and analysis of epidemiologic studies, including descriptive studies, cross-sectional designs, case-control studies, cohort studies, and randomized controlled trials. Computational methods include calculation of measures of disease frequency (incidence, prevalence) and measures of association (e.g., relative risk, odds ratio, attributable risk). Study issues include evaluating the role of chance, selection bias, information bias, confounding, and effect modification in interpreting research findings. STAT 3000 does not cover specific computational details of statistical tests (see Stat 1110, Stat 1410, or Stat 2430 for these) but rather focuses on interpretation of the results of such tests.

Course sessions will generally consist of lecture covering new material and discussion of one or more assigned journal articles from the biomedical literature.

Grades are based on homework, exams, written project evaluating an assigned epidemiologic study, in-class presentation, and class participation (attendance and contribution to in-class discussion).