Learning objectives
At the end of the course, students should be able: - to create and manage a clinical database with several variables with excel, starting from real cases (i.e. clinical records or questionnaires); -to import this database on other statistical software and to perform tests of inferential and descriptive statistics; - to perform simple models of multivariate statistics.
Prerequisites
No
Course unit content
The course is strictly related to medical statistics, which will be done simultaneously.
PROGRAM
Data in biomedical field. Software for data processing. Database definition. Excel: principles and operations. To build a database and in Excel and to export it into a specific statistical software. Numerical, text, and grouping variables in the database. Operations among variables. The use of functions in Excel. Graphs in Excel. The use of freeware statistical software and SPSS. More than two groups: analysis of variance (one-way ANOVA). From univariate to multivariate statistics: data processing with several variables. Multiple regression. Logistic regression. Two-way ANOVA. Processing of survival data: Kaplan-Meier curves. ROC curves and the diagnosis through a pattern of variables.
Full programme
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Bibliography
Classroom slides (uploaded after 2/3 of the course) and all the material on Elly are the reference point for the exam. Some further reference books: SA Glantz -
Statistica per discipline biomediche - McGraw-Hill. All the books about Excel and SPSS.
Teaching methods
This course is parallel to that of medical statistics and comprehends both frontal lessons and the use of educational material on Elly for personal study (e-learning). During the frontal lessons, the arguments of the course will be explained and commented. However, a part of the teaching hours will be used to comment and discuss with the students the on-line material, which will comprehend practical examples, explanations about the use of freeware software/SPSS/Excel, and comments about recent scientific articles. Therefore, each theoretical argument with mathematical formulae will be explained by using simple and practical examples, so that students may focus on basic concepts more than on the formulae. Several technical terms will be used both in Italian and in English, so that the student can read on his own the international scientific literature, particularly in the field of clinical medicine. The use of computer during the lessons is encouraged.
Assessment methods and criteria
The evaluation of the students will be formative, as the aptitude test in medical statistics and data processing will be done in more than one step during the course, without a final test. The tests will be at least two and will be performed by students on-line on Elly platform at fixed dates and hours. They contain multiple response quiz and critical comments/discussions on themes/examples from literature explained both during the lessons and in e-learning. If a student prefers a summative evaluation and/or does not pass the formative evaluation, he/she can do a final overall test on all the arguments treated during the course and a critical analysis of a scientific clinical text. The formation of small working groups is encouraged.
Other information
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2030 agenda goals for sustainable development
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