Welcome to BIOSTATISTICS I

Description: 

This is a basic course in biostatistics and it focuses on the application of biostatistics. Statistical methods in medicine, biology, and biomedical engineering are based on experimental designs that may differ from those treated in traditional statistics courses. Especially the design of experiments and the types of data obtained from these experiments are often very different. Problems with sampling, allocation, volunteers, placebo, cross-over designs, repeated measurements, etc. are typical for the biomedical field. Moreover, data widely deviating from normality are the rule, not the exception. This course will consist of two parts: (i) a review of some well-known and widely used parametric and non-parametric methods and discussions of basic designs of experimental studies, (ii) application of the statistical methods, and (iii) developing a statistical analysis plan (SAP) for your research project.

The learning goals for Biostatistics 1 are:

  1. Write a draft of a SAP for your own research project.
  2. The ability to understand the assumptions and perform the following statistical tests:

  • Descriptive statistics
  • Probability distributions
  • Estimation
  • Hypothesis testing - parametric tests
  • Non-parametric tests
  • One-way ANOVA
  • Cross-tabulations
  • Regression and correlation

For the evaluation of Biostatistics 1, we will attempt to get as close to your projects as possible. We hope that you will be able to use some of the statistical tools from the course and use them in the context of your own project. You will hand in a draft of your SAP before the last lecture, you will review your fellow participants’ SAPs and you will present your SAP on the last day of the course.

Prerequisites: Basic knowledge of statistical software Stata or SPSS. We recommend that you bring your own laptop.

Literature: B. Kirkwood, J. Sterne, “Essential medical statistics”. Plus handouts.

Organiser: Associate Professor Carsten Dahl Mørch, email: cdahl@hst.aau.dk

Lecturers: Sinead Holden, Michael Skovdal Rathleff, and Associate Professor Carsten Dahl Mørch

ECTS: 3.5

Dates: 6, 12, 17, 27 March, 14, 20 April & 4 May 2020 (all days 8.15 - 12.00, except 17 March and 4 May 12.30-16.15)

Place: Aalborg University, Niels Jernes Vej 14, room 4-117

Deadline: 14 February 2020

Important information concerning PhD courses: We have over some time experienced problems with no-show for both project and general courses. It has now reached a point where we are forced to take action. Therefore, the Doctoral School has decided to introduce a no-show fee of DKK 3,000 for each course where the student does not show up. Cancellations are accepted no later than 2 weeks before start of the course. Registered illness is of course an acceptable reason for not showing up on those days. Furthermore, all courses open for registration approximately four months before start. This can hopefully also provide new students a chance to register for courses during the year. We look forward to your registrations.