Module code: NUR7048-B
To enable the student to develop the theoretical knowledge base and practical skills required to interpret research evidence from quantitative study designs, with a focus on epidemiological research, and to undertake statistical analyses for relatively simple study designs.
Epidemiology - definition & example landmark studies (e.g. Doll & Hill on smoking, Framingham heart study). Introduction to the philosophy of science - nature of 'evidence', uncertainty and impossibility of 'proof'. Association & Causation. Hierarchy of research evidence & characteristics of study designs (Meta-analyses, RCT's, cohort studies, case-control studies, surveys (cross-sectional studies), ecological studies, diagnostic accuracy studies. Bias, confounding, stratification and effect modification. Descriptive and graphical methods - measures of central tendency, dispersion, proportions; histograms, box-and-whisker plots, scatterplots (including linear and non-linear associations); transforming data. Inferential statistics - hypothesis testing (and limitations), interpretation of p-values (Fisher and Neymann-Pearson), effect size estimation - point estimates and confidence intervals. Analysis methods for quantitative and categorical data (independent and dependent (paired/matched) samples). Statistical significance v. clinical importance. Principles of sample size estimation.
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