Course overview
The aim of this course is to enable students to use correctly statistical methods of particular relevance to evidence-based health care and to advise clinicians on the application of these methods and interpretation of the results. The content includes: Clinical trials (equivalence trials, cross-over trials); Clinical agreement (Bland-Altman methods, kappa statistics, intraclass correlation); Statistical process control (special and common causes of variation; quality control charts); Diagnostic tests (sensitivity, specificity, ROC curves); Meta-analysis (systematic reviews, assessing heterogeneity, publication bias, estimating effects from randomized controlled trials, diagnostic tests and observational studies).
Course learning outcomes
- Understand and apply Continuous Quality Improvement to medical studies and hospital data including detection of special and common causes of variation
- Explain and apply appropriate measures of agreement and consistency for both raters and continuous measurements
- Calculate measures of the performance of diagnostic tests and interpret these via ROC curves where appropriate
- Describe systematic reviews and undertake meta-analyses of various types of studies
- Understand advantages and disadvantages of cross-over designs in general and be able to analyse 2×2 designs
- Explain the role of, and the relationships between, non-inferiority, efficacy and equivalence trials
- Calculate and report sample sizes for non-inferiority and equivalence trials
- Choose the appropriate graphical and/or statistical methods to answer clinical questions
- Effectively communicate the results of, and ideas behind statistical analyses performed to clinicians and statisticians
Availability
Class details
Online
Class number 20065
Section 01OL
Size 30
Available 30
Fee calculator
To display course fees, please select your status and program below:
We’re updating this Fee Calculator. It currently shows fees for programs only. Please check the relevant program for full fee details.
Study Abroad student tuition fees are available here.
Only some Postgraduate Coursework programs are available as Commonwealth Supported. Please check your program for specific fee information.
The Student Contribution amount displayed below is for students commencing a new program from 2021 onwards. If you are continuing in a program you commenced prior to 1 January 2021, or are commencing an Honours degree relating to an undergraduate degree you commenced prior to 1 January 2021, you may be charged a different Student Contribution amount from the amount displayed below. Please check the Student Contribution bands for continuing students here. If you are an international student, or a domestic student studying in a full fee paying place, and are continuing study that you commenced in 2025 or earlier, your fees will be available here before enrolments open for 2026.