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140.624.01
Statistical Methods in Public Health IV

Location
East Baltimore
Term
4th Term
Department
Biostatistics
Credit(s)
4
Academic Year
2012 - 2013
Instruction Method
TBD
Class Time(s)
Tu, Th, 10:30 - 11:50am
Lab Times
Tuesday, 3:30 - 5:20pm (01)
Wednesday, 3:30 - 5:20pm (02)
Thursday, 1:30 - 3:20pm (03)
Auditors Allowed
Yes, with instructor consent
Available to Undergraduate
No
Grading Restriction
Letter Grade or Pass/Fail
Course Instructor(s)
Contact Name
Frequency Schedule
Every Year
Prerequisite

140.623

Description
Expands students’ abilities to conduct and report the results of a valid statistical analysis of quantitative public health information. Develops more advanced skills in multiple regression models, focusing on log-linear models and on techniques for the evaluation of survival and longitudinal data. Also presents methods for the measurement of agreement, validity, and reliability.
Learning Objectives
Upon successfully completing this course, students will be able to:
  1. Frame a scientific question about the dependence of a continuous, binary, count, or time-to-event response on explanatory variables in terms of linear, logistic, log-linear, or survival regression model whose parameters represent quantities of scientific interest
  2. Design a tabular or graphical display of a dataset that makes apparent the association between explanatory variables and the response
  3. Choose a specific linear, logistic, log-linear, or survival regression model appropriate to address a scientific question and correctly interpret the meaning of its parameters.
  4. Appreciate that the interpretation of a particular multiple regression coefficient depends on which other explanatory variables are in the model
  5. Estimate the unknown coefficients and their standard errors using maximum(or partial) likelihood and perform tests of relevant null hypotheses about the association with the response of particular subsets of explanatory variables
  6. Check whether a model fits the data well; identify ways to improve a model when necessary
  7. Use several models for the analysis of a dataset to effectively answer the main scientific questions
  8. Describe how longitudinal data differ from cross-sectional data and why special regression methods are sometimes needed for their analysis
  9. Summarize in a table, the results of linear, logistic, log-linear, and survival regressions and write a description of the statistical methods, results, and main findings for a scientific report
  10. Perform data management, including input, editing, and merging of datasets, necessary to analyze data in Stata
  11. Complete a data analysis project, including data analysis and a written summary in the form of a scientific paper
Special Comments

Instructional labs are two hours per week, either Tuesday (3:30-5:20), Wednesday (3:30-5:20), or Thursday (1:30-3:20). Computing labs are Monday - Friday, 2:30-4:20. TA office hours are Monday - Friday, 12:15-1:15. It is not necessary to register separately for labs or TA hours. Course Materials Fee is $40.00.