| |
:: Course SummaryThis course is focused on the interpretation of medical journal articles with regard to statistical issues. To achieve this objective, the fundamental concepts used in statistical methods for medical research are explained. Participants learn how to use the concepts to interpret scientific publications about drugs, medical devices and epidemiology. To illustrate the concepts, one to four scientific papers selected in advance with the participants are explained, discussed and criticized. Following this course, participants will have increased their understanding of statistical thinking to be able to interpret scientific publications with more confidence.:: Learning Objectives
- To understand the terminology used in biostatistics
- To understand the statistical principles of scientific research
- To understand what drives the choice of a statistical method
- To be able to criticize scientific papers and to assess the quality of the results and the scope of the conclusions
:: Target AudienceThis course is targeted toward healthcare professionals, medical liaisons, clinicians, and more generally people who need to understand clinical information published in the medical literature.:: PrerequisiteNo formal knowledge of biostatistical tools is required to attend the class. The technical level is adapted to the degree of knowledge of participants. Attendees are asked to read the selected papers before the class. | | |
:: Topics Covered
- Introduction to statistics: Population vs. sample, variability, role of statistics in scientific research
- Notion of variables: outcomes, factors, covariates, etc.
- Key elements in descriptive statistics: Mean, median, standard deviation, standard error, etc.
- Principle of statistical inference: notion of risk, significance level, p-value, power of a study, confidence intervals
- Use of statistical inference in equivalence, non-inferiority and superiority studies
- Common statistical issues in medical research: sample size calculation, dealing with multiple testing
- Overview of commonly used techniques in medical research: this part is customized according to the course length and the methods used in the selected papers. It focuses on the principle of each method, data it can handle, results it provides, its scope and limitations
- Overview of meta-analysis
:: Course ContentThis 2-day course starts with a half day review of the fundamentals of biostatistics. The topics covered are applicable to an array of statistical methods commonly used in medical research. The remainder of the course consists of an application of these principles and is devoted to the study of scientific papers from the medical field using one or several statistical methods. For participants to benefit fully from the course, they must have carefully read the papers before the workshop. After the principles of the relevant methods have been explained, their use in the paper is investigated and any weakness in the methodology or conclusions is identified and discussed.
Upon completion of the course, participants will be in a better position to critically evaluate the medical literature with respect to study design, statistical analysis, and interpretation of results. They will be able to assess the quality and the scope of the results.
| |
