Course syllabus for Biostatistics 1

Biostatistik 1

Specific entry requirements

A Bachelor's degree or a professional degree equivalent to a Swedish Bachelor's degree of at least 180 credits in public health science, healthcare or other relevant social sciences subject area. And proficiency in English equivalent to English B/English 6.

Outcomes

The aim of the course is to a) provide students with robust knowledge of basic statistics to carry out common statistical analyses used in epidemiology, b) develop skills needed to conduct pertinent analyses, c) adequately interpret the results, d) learn to use of a statistical software.

After completion of the course, the student should be able to:

1. Knowledge and Understanding

• Describe empirical data distributions using appropriate graphical and numerical summaries. 
• Describe basic probability rules and theoretical probability distributions.
• Discuss the importance of the sampling distribution in the context of statistical inference.

2. Competence and Skills

• Perform hypothesis testing and construct confidence intervals.
• Compare populations using suitable parametric or non-parametric methods.
• Develop reproducible code to generate and analyze data from simple statistical models.

Judgement and Approach

• Interpret statistical results in relation to public health research questions.
• Justify the selection of statistical techniques based on data characteristics and study objectives.
• Evaluate uncertainty and potential inferential errors when drawing conclusions from data.

Content

The contents of the course were purposely set and organized hierarchically to be aligned with the learning outcomes as follows: Type of data (dichotomous, continuous, nominal, categorical, ordinal, etc.), handling datasets including defining, computing, selecting and recoding variables for data analyses), measures of central tendency (mean, median, mode), measures of dispersion (range, extreme values, percentiles, variance, standard deviation), table of counts and relative counts, data presentation (tabulations, bar/pie graphs, boxplots, scatterplots, etc.), theoretical probability distributions (normal, binomial, Poisson, Chi-square), central limit theorem; type I error, type II error, power, confidence level, point estimate and confidence intervals, measures of associations (OR-odds ratio) (Pearson and Spearman correlation), hypothesis testing (null and alternative hypotheses, one-sided, two-sided tests), test of independence for categorical data (Pearson difference between 2 means (student's t-test of independent samples), difference among more than 2 means (ANOVA, F-test, non-parametric statistics (sign-test, Mann-Whitney and Wilcoxon tests for independent samples), measures of linear association.

Teaching methods

A combination of teaching techniques (i.e. interactive and traditional lectures, group and independent work, group dynamics, and computer labs) will be used depending on the specific study subject aimed at engaging students in the teaching-learning process to promote reflective thinking and active collaborative education following a deep approach to learning. Lectures, group activities and computer tutorials will be interconnected so that students can link the theoretical knowledge with the practical skills of performing statistical analyses using a computer.

Examination

The course learning outcomes will be assessed using a quantitative instrument.

The grades used are fail, pass or pass with distinction. To "pass" the course students must attain 65 points or more of the total score of 100 points. Students that attain more than 90 points will receive "pass with distinction".

Compulsory participation
Some lectures are compulsory as indicated in the schedule. The examiner assesses if, and in that case, how, absence from compulsory educational elements can be compensated for. Before the student has participated in the compulsory educational elements or compensated the absence in accordance with the examiner's instructions, the final course results will not be reported. Absence from a compulsory educational component may imply that the student cannot compensate for the missed compulsory educational elements until next time the course is given.

Limitation of number of occasions to write the exam
The student has the right to write the exam six times. If the student has not passed the exam after four participations he/she is encouraged to visit the study advisor.
The number of times that the student has participated in one and the same examination is regarded as an examination session. Submission of a blank examination is regarded as an examination. An examination for which the student registered but not participated in will not be counted as an examination.

If there are special grounds, or a need for adaptation for a student with a disability, the examiner may decide to deviate from the syllabus's regulations on the examination form, the number of examination opportunities, the possibility of supplementation or exemptions from the compulsory section/s of the course etc. Content and learning outcomes as well as the level of expected skills, knowledge and abilities may not be changed, removed or reduced.

Transitional provisions

Examination will be provided during a time of two years after a possible cancellation of the course. Examination can take place according to an earlier literature list during a time of one year after the date when a major renewal of the literature list has been made.

Other directives

Course evaluation will be carried out in accordance with the guidelines established by the Committee for Higher Education.

The course language is English.

Literature and other teaching aids

Mandatory literature

Course literature is based on key articles, power-point presentations, and handouts. However, the following books will be used as reference or as additional support.

• Pagano, Marcello; Gauvreau, Kimberlee, Principles of biostatistics, 2. ed. : Pacific Grove : Duxbury, cop. 2000 - xvi, 525 s. , [42] s. ISBN: 0-534-22902-6 ; No price, LIBRIS-ID: 5036554, *
• Kirkwood, Betty R.; Sterne, Jonathan A. C., Essential medical statistics, 2. ed. : Malden, Mass. : Blackwell Science, cop. 2003 - x, 501 s. ISBN: 0-86542-871-9, LIBRIS-ID: 8731249, *

Recommended literature