Section: Module 7: Biostatistics in Public Health | Biostatistics | NextGenU.org
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Competency covered in this module:
- Describe the roles biostatistics serves in the discipline of public health.
- Apply descriptive and inferential methodologies according to the type of study design for answering a particular research question.
- Apply basic informatics techniques with vital statistics and public health records in the description of public health characteristics and in public health research and evaluation.
- Interpret results of statistical analyses found in public health studies.
- Develop written and oral presentations based on statistical analyses for both public health professionals and educated lay audiences.
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Module 7: Lesson 1: Limitations and Misinterpretations of Biostatistics
Student Learning Objectives:
Upon completion of this lesson, you will be able to:
- Understand and explain the relative strengths and limitations of biostatistics as it applies in various settings in public health.
- Be able to detect misleading claims and inappropriate methods in research papers as well as appreciate that a statistically significant result may not be clinically significant.
- Appreciate that many interests may influence researchers towards favorable interpretation and presentation of their findings.
Approximate time required to complete the readings (at 144 words/minute) and assignments for this module: 3 hours.
Required Learning Resources and Activities
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Students mustView
- Read the entire article.
- Understand and explain the relative strengths and limitations of biostatistics as it applies in various settings in public health
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Students mustView
- Scroll down and read sections I to III. The rest of the article is optional reading.
- Be able to detect misleading claims and inappropriate methods in research papers as well as appreciate that a statistically significant result may not be clinically significant
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Students mustView
- Read the entire article.
- Be able to detect misleading claims and inappropriate methods in research papers as well as appreciate that a statistically significant result may not be clinically significant
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Students mustView
- Read the entire article.
- Appreciate that many interests may influence researchers towards favourable interpretation and presentation of their findings
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Quiz: Module 7: Lesson 1
To access the quiz, click on the name of the quiz provided above. On the following screen, click the "Preview quiz now" button to respond to the questions.
TO PASS THIS QUIZ, YOU MUST OBTAIN A SCORE OF 80%
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Module 7: Lesson 2: Biostatistics in Public Health Programs
Student Learning Objectives:
Upon completion of this lesson, you will be able to:
- Understand that public health programs rely on biostatistics principles and methodologies to collect, analyze, use, and present data.
- Relate specific public health contributions to biostatistics concepts learned in this course.
Approximate time required to complete the readings (at 144 words/minute) and assignments for this module: 1 hour.
Required Learning Resources and Activities
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Students mustView
- Read the entire web page.
- Understand that public health programs rely on biostatistics principles and methodologies to collect, analyze, use, and present data
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Students mustView
- Scroll down, and under the tab titled "Choose a video:", highlight the link titled "Cancer Statistics". Watch the entire video.
- Understand that public health programs rely on biostatistics principles and methodologies to collect, analyze, use, and present data
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Students mustView
- Read page 17 of the article.
- Understand that public health programs rely on biostatistics principles and methodologies to collect, analyze, use, and present data
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Students mustView
- Watch the video from 42:50 to 50:05.
- Watch the video from 42:50 to 50:05.
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Students mustViewReceive a grade
- Find a research article that uses quantitative methodology and answer as many of the following questions as you can in 500 to 1000 words. Most journals and databases have open access content.
- Guidelines for selecting an appropriate article:
- Choose an article from a peer reviewed journal with impact factor of 2.0 or more.
- Choose an article published within the past 5 years.
- Choose an article relevant to the current research and health conditions in a country that is of interest to you.
- An example of an appropriate paper is here. However, you may find that some articles use statistical techniques that you haven’t learned in this course—this is ok. Do your best to understand and describe what the authors have done, and look up any references to methods if needed. The goal of this activity is to (i) help you review the concepts learned and (ii) challenge yourself to learn new methods as they become relevant in your practice. For practising public health professionals, biostatistics is a life-long learning process.
- As you review the paper, focus on the following methods-related questions below:
- What is/are the main relationship being studied? What is the research question? Is there any hypothesis testing involved?
- What are the predictors and outcomes? What type of variables are they?
- How were data obtained for the study? What are the advantages and disadvantages from a statistical perspective?
- Summarize any descriptive techniques in the paper. What summary statistics do the authors use? What data visualization techniques do they use? Are they effective in helping you understand the study?
- What analytic techniques do the authors use? Summarize the main statistical technique used and discuss why the authors chose to use this method. Describe its strengths and limitations in principle and in context, as well as the assumptions and specific parameters used (e.g. significance level, adjustments, etc.).
- Based on your understanding of the research and the results presented, do you agree with the authors’ interpretations? Are there issues present that could bias the authors’ interpretations?
- Relate specific public health contributions to biostatistics concepts learned in this course
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Quiz: Module 7: Lesson 2
To access the quiz, click on the name of the quiz provided above. On the following screen, click the "Preview quiz now" button to respond to the questions.
TO PASS THIS QUIZ, YOU MUST OBTAIN A SCORE OF 80%
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Students mustViewComplete the activityReceive a gradeReceive a score of 80 or more
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- Read the entire page.
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- Explore the links under "Behavioral Health Resources" to become familiar with prevention programs and practices that have been developed based on evidence obtained from research and statistical data:
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- Read pages 18 to 21 of the article.