COURSE DESCRIPTION: In QSBR I, the focus is on the basic concepts of statistical inference, especial the idea of quantifying the uncertainty of estimation and reasoning of hypothesis testing. In QSBR II, we will apply the basic concepts of statistical inference to explore relations between two or more variables, and the focus of the teaching will shift from basic concepts towards the art of data analysis. Below are a few things that might help you do well in learning statistics.

The best way to learn statistics is to apply your own common sense and reasoning, and applying statistical methods to real problems encountered in your research.

Although math plays an important role in statistics, for the vast majority of biomedical researchers, it is more important to understand what a particular statistical method tries to do than to know the details of the mathematical formula and computational algorithms. In other words, you want to have the big pictures before getting into the details. Mathematics mostly serves the purpose of justifying our common sense and enabling us to handle complicated problems.

For data analysis, it is often much more important to make sense of the data using a variety of visualization tools before describing them with numbers and statistical models.

We will also use software R in this module. It is used mainly for
1. visualizing the data
2. numerical simulation to help understand statistical methods
3. perform some modern statistical computational methods.
 

Topics to be covered: Fisher Exact Test and Hypothesis Testing
Chi-square Tests + R session
Correlation and Linear Regression
Regression Diagnostics
One-Way ANOVA + R session
Two-Way ANOVA and Statistical Interactions
Permutation tests (Bring your laptops to the classroom)
Logistic Regression + Extra R session
(Possibly) Repeated Measure and Random Effect Model

COURSE OBJECTIVES: Build your confidence in understanding and using at least some statistical methods that are not taught in this course when you need them in your future research.

RECOMMENDED MATERIALS:
- Peter Dalgaard: Introductory Statistics with R. ISBN-13 978-0387790534
- Robert Elston: Basic Biostatistics for Geneticists and Epidemiologists. ISBN-13: 978-0470024904; ISBN-10: 0470024909

PREREQUISITES:Quantitative Skills for the Biomedical Researcher I or equivalent.

SUITABLE FOR 1ST YEAR STUDENTS: Not recommended; permission from course leader required if seeking to take this course in the first year.

STUDENT ASSESSMENTS: 50% HW and 50% on Final Exam

CREDIT HOURS: 1.0