340.752.01 EPIDEMIOLOGIC METHODS 2

Second offering in the Epidemiologic Methods sequence. Builds on the concepts of epidemiologic reasoning, causal inference, and cohort design taught in Epidemiologic Methods 1. Provides a detailed presentation of threats to validity (information, confounding and selection bias), precision, and study generalizability. Discusses a wide range of epidemiologic designs in detail, together with their advantages and limitations. Provides experience through laboratory exercises with epidemiologic methods and inference, issues in study design, calculation of measures of association, and literature interpretation.

After successful completion, students will be able to: 1. Compare and contrast epidemiologic study designs and identify questions that can be appropriately answered with these different designs; 2. Recognize and analyze the most important threats to validity: selection, information and confounding bias; 3. Address biases in the design and implementation of epidemiologic studies; 4. Describe the role of randomization, how it is used in randomized controlled trials and how deviations from randomness can be approached; and 5. Design and critically assess epidemiologic studies.