MPH1031

Introductory statistics ( 6 points, SCA Band 2, 0.125 EFTSL)

Leader: Prof J Anderson

Offered:
MMS-ALFRED First semester 2006 (Day)

Synopsis: Descriptive statistics - graphs and tables. Theoretical and empirical probability distributions - chi-square, student's-t, binomial, Poisson, standard normal. Basic statistics - mean, median, mode, minimum, maximum, standard deviation, proportion. Standard errors, confidence intervals and their construction. Paired and unpaired t-tests. Chi-square and Fisher's exact for contingency tables. Non-parametric tests, correlation and bivariate regression. Relative risks and Odds ratios.

Objectives: On completion of this unit students should be able to: 1. perform simple statistical analyses of small data sets by hand; 2. identify the appropriate technique for data analysis; 3. obtain p-values from tables; 4. distinguish between clinical and statistical significance; 5. understand the concept of a Type I and Type II error and identify where these may have occurred; 6. calculate and explain the interpretation of simple confidence intervals.

Homepage: www.med.monash.edu.au/epidemiology/postgrad/

Assessment: Mid-semester + Final examinations

Contact Hours: 2 contact hours per week

Corequisites: MPH1030