Statistical Methodology for Basic Research

Catalog description

This course focuses on the appropriate application of core concepts taught in CRP 241 (Introduction to Statistical Methods) to the arena of basic science research, including dataset construction, descriptive statistics, hypothesis formulation and study power, and statistical inference. Through in-class lectures, directed exercises, and discussion of representative peer-reviewed manuscripts, students engage with core concepts in statistical modeling through its real-world application to the challenges of bench-science research. Classes will generally be delivered using a combination of brief introductory lectures followed by a journal club-format discussion in which students will be responsible for presenting and critiquing a peer-reviewed manuscript selected for its relevance to that week's topic area (e.g. handing non-Gaussian continuous outcomes). At the end of the course, students will be able to think critically about study design, draft study power sections for grant proposals, and outline about study design, draft study power sections for grant proposals, and outline a statistical analysis plan that would be appropriate to share at a pre-study consultation session with a master's or PhD-level staff biostatistician. Data analyses will be performed using R, a free software environment for statistical computing and graphical presentation. Prerequisite: 241. Credit: 2.