Southern School of Pharmacy

Department of Pharmacy Administration

PHA 500 BIOSTATISTICS & RESEARCH DESIGN

        

SYLLABUS

BIOSTATISTICS AND RESEARCH DESIGN 500
Instructors: Richard A. Jackson, Ph.D.
Z. Thomas Grapes, Ph.D.
Time: Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday at 10:20 a.m.
Course Description: To enable the student to develop an understanding of basic statistics and research design procedures and terms such that clinical studies in the medical and pharmaceutical literature may be objectively evaluated.

To provide the student with the necessary tools such that he or she will be able to effectively describe, summarize, analyze and make valid conclusions from data collected through his or her own research endeavors.
Text: Course pack with supplemental readings for biostatistics will be available in the bookstore.
Examinations: There will be three major examinations* administered during the quarter and one final examination.  These exams count for 90% of the course grade.   Each of these examinations will count equally.  All examinations will be multiple choice.  Calculators will be allowed and all formulas will be provided.   Self-assessment examinations will be administered prior to each examination.   Participation in active learning activities will count for 10% of the grade inthe course.

*September 14, October 12, November 19
Grading: A              =        90-100
B+           =        88-89
B             =        80-87
C+           =        78-79
C             =        70-77
F             =         < 70
Caveat: It should be emphasized that the material covered in this course is of such a nature that each topic builds upon the topic previously discussed, therefore, it is extremely important that the student keep up on a daily basis and not get behind in the course.
Problem Sets: At the conclusion of most major sections of the course, problems will be assigned by the instructor.  These problems will not be turned in and are provided for the student's study purposes.  Answers will be posted and made available on reserve in the library.
Course Outline: Examples from the clinical literature for evaluation will be provided for each major topic.
Research Design and Methodology A.     Research Design
 
          1.      Introduction
          2.      Non-experimental
          3.      Quasi-experimental
          4.       Experimental

B.       Research Methodology

          1.       Introduction
          2.       Surveys
          3.       Clinical
          4.       Pharmacoeconomics
  A.       Introduction and Definition

           1.      Why Study?
           2.      How Used?
           3.      Terms and Definitions

B.       Graphic Representation of Data

            1.      Frequency Distribution
            2.      Frequency Polygon
            3.      Types of Curves
            4.      The Histogram
            5.      Cumulative Frequency Distributions
            6.      Ogive Curve
            7.      Centiles
                    A.        Computation
                    B.        Use

C.       Averages

           1.       The Arithmetic Mean
           2.       The Median
           3.       The Mode
           4.       Use of Averages

D.       Variability

            1.       Range
            2.       Quartile Deviation
            3.       Average Deviation
            4.       Standard Deviation
            5.       Variance
            6.       Standard Error of the Mean
            7.       Confidence Intervals

E.        Standard Scores and the Normal Curve

            1.        Definition
            2.        Z scores
            3.        Area Under the Curve

F.        Probability and Inference

            1.        Probability
            2.        Inference

G.        Hypothesis Testing

            1.         Decision Making
            2.         Hypothesis Testing
            3.         Significance
            4.         One and Two Tailed tests
            5.         Levels of Significance
            6.         Errors
            7.         Power

H.        Testing Differences in Means (t-tests)

            1.          Repeated measures t
            2.          Independent samples t

I.         Analysis of Variance (ANOVA)

J.         Chi Square (X2)

             1.         Uses
             2.          2 x 2 Table
             3.          Degrees of Freedom
             4.          Obtaining Expected Frequencies
             5.          Chi Square and Z
             6.          Chi Square in Large Tables
             7.          Yates Correlation for Continuity

K.         Correlation

             1.          Definition
             2.          Cause and Effect
             3.          Types
             4.          Pearson r

L.          Linear Regression

             1.           Straight Line Equation
             2.           Construction of Regression Equation
             3.           Plotting
             4.           Standard Error of Estimate