305871 (v.2) Epidemiology and Biostatistics Honours 482

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Area:	School of Public Health
Credits:	25.0
Contact Hours:	4.0
Lecture:	1 x 2 Hours Weekly
Tutorial:	1 x 1 Hours Weekly
Laboratory:	1 x 1 Hours Weekly
Syllabus:	Introduction to the scientific method, experimental, quasi-experimental, descriptive, qualitative and epidemiological research. Measurement issues - questionnaire development, reliability and validity of data, issues of sampling and sample size. Ethics in research. Overview of descriptive statistics, estimation and confidence intervals, inferential statistical tests. Use of SPSS software.
Unit Outcomes:	On successful completion of this unit students will - Understand the scientific method and its place in the health sciences. Demonstrate an understanding of research data collection techniques and measurement issues such as reliability and validity. Describe experimental, quasi-experimental, epidemiologic, descriptive and qualitative research. Apply basic and inferential statistics to data in the health sciences. Use the SPSS statistical software package. Evaluate statistical analyses in the health research literature. Have the basic knowledge to design a research proposal
Text and references listed above are for your information only and current as of September 30, 2003. Please check with the unit coordinator for up-to-date information.
Unit References:	Altman D.G., (1991), Practical Statistics for Medical Research, Chapman and Hall. Bowling A., (1997), Research Methods in Health - Investigating Health and Health services, Open University Press. Elwood J.M., (1998), Critical Appraisal of EpidemiologicalStudies and Clinical Trials, 2nd ed., Oxford University Press. Hennekens C.H. and Buring JE 1987, Epidemiology in Medicine, Little, Brown & Company. Gordis L., (1996), Epidemiology, WB Saunders Company. Moore D.S. and McCabe G.P., (1993), Introduction tothe Practice of Statistics, 2nd ed., WH Freeman and Company. Munro B.H., (2001), Statistical Methods for Health Care Research, 4th ed., Lippincott. Peat J., (2001), Health Science Research - A Handbook of Quantitative Methods, Allen and Unwin. Petrie A. and Sabin C., (2000), Medical Statistics at a Glance, Blackwell Science.
Unit Texts:	Dawson B. and Trapp R.G., (2001), Basic and Clinical Biostatistics, 3rd ed., Appleton and Lange. Coakes S.J. and Steed L.G., (2001), SPSS - Analysis Without Anguish, Version 10.0 for Windows, John Wiley and Sons.
Unit Assessment Breakdown:	Computing Test 20%, Mid-semester Test 35%, Final Examination 45%. This is by grade/mark assessment.
Year Location Period Internal Area External Central External 2004 Bentley Campus Semester 2 Y