Unit information: Statistics & Research Methods in 2018/19

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. Wills
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/workshops
• Conferencing
• e-Learning

Assessment Information

Coursework: home-based assessment (60%):

(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%)

Examination (40%):

(i)A 2-hour closed book exam consisting of multiple choice and short open answer questions

The pass-mark for the unit will be 50%. However students will be required to reach a minimum standard in both their coursework and their written exams. As such only 5% compensation between the total coursework element and the total exam element will be allowed.

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. 2^nd 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.