Biostatistics (20404)
Qualification/course: Bachelor's Degree in Medicine
Year: 2
Term: 1
Number of ECTS credits: 6
Number of study hours: 150
Course Language(s): Spanish
Teaching Staff: Manuel Pastor (coordinator), Ferran Sanz and Ismael Zamora
1. Presentation of the course
This course aims to be an introduction to basic statistical concepts and to the most commonly used statistical techniques in the biomedical sciences. The focus is largely practical and it is intended that the student not only learns the techniques and concepts, but that he or she also acquires the necessary competences to be able to use biostatistics on at least two levels, namely (i) the acquisition of competence in statistical language used in the biomedical literature, both understanding and communicating, and (ii) the application of statistics in the design, execution and results analysis in simple research studies within the field of biomedicine.
The course is aimed therefore at furnishing the student with a general and rational view, applied to biostatistics, stressing the most useful aspects for professional use. Mathematical formalisms that do not contribute to a better understanding of the techniques will be omitted, along with the more old-fashioned methodologies.
Nowadays, statistical analysis of biomedical data is not done by hand but instead using computational tools. The theory classes of the course will illustrate the various techniques, showing the results obtained with the most commonly-used tools (e.g. SPSS), and in the practical classes the students will themselves use these tools, applied to problems within the field of biomedicine.
2. Competences to be achieved
EDUCATIONAL GOALS
- To introduce basic statistical concepts and place them in a biomedical context.
- To help the student develop the skills required to understand the meaning of statistical language used in the biomedical literature.
- To help the student develop the skills required to use statistical methods to plan, execute and analyse the results of a simple research study.
- To train the student in the use of computational tools for the statistical analysis of biomedical data.
- To help the student develop the skills required to express the results of a research study using appropriate statistical language.
- To help the student develop a critical and thoughtful attitude in the analysis and interpretation of the results of a research study.
COMPETENCES
The course covers competences related to statistics from the list of competences that by law one must acquire during a Bachelor's degree in Medicine. Specifically, in the section "Social medicine, communication skills and initial research skills (MS)", the course covers competences 32, 33 and 34:
- Know and understand the basic concepts of biostatistics and their application to the medical sciences (MSH-32).
- Be capable of designing and executing simple statistical studies using computational programs and interpreting the results (MSH-33).
- Understand and interpret statistical data in the medical literature (MSH-34).
More specifically, the course aims to achieve that the student acquires the following specific competences:
a) Understanding the meaning of the statistical language generally used in the biomedical literature.
b) Designing simple research studies.
c) Selecting the most suitable statistical method to analyse data extracted from a simple research study.
d) Analysing the results of a research study using descriptive statistical methods.
e) Analysing the results of a research study using inferential statistical methods. Correctly interpreting the results.
f) Using standard statistical computational tools to analyse biomedical data.
g) Critical analysis of the interpretation of a statistical study.
h) Expressing the results of a statistical analysis of biomedical data using the correct statistical language.
Additionally, the course will contribute to the development of other general competences, such as:
General competences of scientific thought
- Collect, analyse and interpret data
- Evidence-based argument
- Modelling
- Promotion of critical thinking
Basic transferable competences
- Written expression
- Oral expression
- Searching for and critical reading of information
3. Content
The course will deal with the following topics:
- Basic concepts in biostatistics
- Sampling methods. Types of biomedical studies
- Descriptive statistics
- Probability. Theoretical probability distributions
- Estimation of statistical population parameters
- Statistical theory of hypothesis testing
- Qualitative hypothesis testing
- Quantitative hypothesis testing
- Regression analysis
- Multivariate analysis
- Non-parametric statistics
- Design and planning of experiments
- Bayesian statistics
Annexe I contains a more detailed list, organised by module, indicating the number of face-to-face hours assigned to each topic.
Annexe I. Course programme
|
|
Module |
Content |
CM |
DA |
PR |
|
1 |
Introduction |
- Need and goal of biostatistics |
1 |
|
2 |
|
2 |
Biomedical studies |
- Population and sample |
2 |
|
|
|
3 |
Descriptive statistics |
- Types of variables |
3 |
|
2 |
|
4 |
Probability I |
- Concept of probability |
2 |
2 |
|
|
5 |
Probability II |
- Random variables |
2 |
|
2 |
|
6 |
Estimation of statistical population parameters |
- Point estimate concept |
3 |
|
2 |
|
7 |
Statistical theory of hypothesis testing |
- Null and comparative hypothesis |
3 |
|
|
|
8 |
Qualitative hypothesis testing |
- Contingency tables |
2 |
|
4 |
|
9 |
Quantitative hypothesis testing |
- Student's t-Test |
3 |
2 |
4 |
|
10 |
Correlation and regression analysis |
- Concepts of covariance and correlation |
4 |
|
4 |
|
11 |
Multivariate analysis |
- Need for multivariate methods |
4 |
2 |
4 |
|
12 |
Non-parametric statistics |
- Need for non-parametric analysis |
2 |
|
2 |
|
13 |
Design and planning of experiments |
- Need for efficiency in experimentation |
2 |
|
2 |
|
14 |
Bayesian statistics |
- Introduction to Bayesian statistics |
1 |
2 |
|
4. Assessment
The assessment will use the following means:
|
Means |
Description |
Weight |
| Official Knowledge assessment multiple choice test |
Specific questions on concepts |
35 |
|
Official knowledge assessment, written test |
Short questions and small problems |
35 |
|
Practical questionnaires |
Assessment of responses, to ensure that problems have been solved correctly |
20 |
|
Seminars and forums |
Information searches, correct oral and written expression and critical thought are evaluated |
10 |
|
Formative assessment |
Same structure as the knowledge assessment |
- |
The final grade will be calculated by multiplying each mark by its weight given in the table, dividing by one hundred, then summing these values. To this grade is then added that for the formative assessment, which if it is more than 5 will be divided by 20 and added to the overall mark (such that a maximum of 0.5 points is added to the overall mark).
The assessment should be representative of the degree to which competences have been acquired, and not be limited to just memorising information. To ensure this, the following strategies are used:
- The majority of the questions in the formative and knowledge assessment are not about theoretical or formal aspects, but instead the student is asked how to solve a practical problem, which is representative of the situations which they will have to face in their professional life, for example, the selection of a statistical method or the interpretation of a result (competences a, c, d, e and h). Questions consisting of analysing a fictitious fragment from the scientific literature where deliberate mistakes have been introduced for the student to find, will also be included (competences a and g).
- The practicals will allow the student to work independently and to apply the knowledge and theory presented in class to practical situations, using statistical computational tools (competences b, c, d, e, f and h).
- The seminars and forums will also form part of the student's independent work and are relevant to different specific competences (competences a, c, g and h), as well as to general and transferable competences.
In short, the assessment is designed so as to be capable of faithfully measuring the acquisition of the competences that are the goal of the course and to serve as an additional motivational factor for the student. The student should not focus all their work on memorising, and should dedicate time and interest to other activities that form part of the course (practicals, seminars, forums) and which are designed to develop these competences.
Assessment of the teaching process:
This course plan will be reviewed each year. Whether or not the educational goals have been met will be assessed according to a set of objective and subjective indicators, and the plan will be updated to include modifications designed to solve any problems detected.
The course assessment will be carried out each year and in collaboration with all the teaching staff. The following indicators will be taken into account:
- Incident reports. Any incident or malfunction detected will be noted in detail in a report (see Annexe II) and these reports will be gathered in a file.
- Student satisfaction questionnaires.
- Results of the formative and knowledge assessment.
- Subjective opinions and impressions of the teaching panel.
The bibliography and information resources list will be reviewed and updated annually.
The course quality indicators, the updating of the course plan and any improvement measures will be gathered in an annual course report.
Annexe II. Incident reports
INCIDENT REPORT
|
Lecturer: |
Date: |
|
Class (LC/DA/PR): |
Group: |
|
Description:
|
|
|
Comments:
|
|
|
Suggested solution:
|
|
5. Bibliography and teaching resources
5.3. Teaching resources
During the course, the students will have access to the following information resources:
- Visual support material. Presentations in PowerPoint format, or equivalent, of the lectures.
- List of recommended textbooks. Suggestions of biomedical journals to consult in the seminars.
- Links to particularly relevant web pages.
- Course documentation, including the course programme, examples of past papers and exercises, etc.
It is important that the students consult the recommended bibliography and do not limit themselves to studying only from their lecture notes. To take part in the seminars the students are obliged to consult the biomedical literature.
6. Methodology
Teaching methodology
Lectures (LC), seminars (SM) and practicals (PR), distributed in the following manner:
|
|
Hours |
Sessions |
Hours/session |
Percentage of face-to-face hours * |
|
LC |
34 |
34 |
1 |
49% |
|
SM |
8 |
4 |
2 |
11% |
|
PR |
28 |
14 |
2 |
40% |
* With respect to a total of 70 face-to-face hours.
The lectures will be given in the style of a presentation and will provide the student with the theory content of the course in a clear and concise way. The statistical techniques will be rationally justified, explaining the need for them, their field of application and their advantages and disadvantages. Wherever possible the concept will be illustrated with practical examples from the field of biomedicine. Where techniques are explained that are generally carried out using computer programs, the students will be shown screens with the program results, explaining how they should be interpreted. The lectures will be supported by visual material (PowerPoint presentations or equivalent), which will be made available to the student on the Aula Global before the class. The visual material will be sufficiently self-explanatory that it will serve as study material and will avoid the student having to take notes during the class.
The purpose of the seminars is for the student to apply theoretical knowledge to practical cases, contributing to the development of some of the previously mentioned competences. Before each seminar the students will be supplied with preparatory material, which should be used to complete a set of tasks before attending the seminar. During the seminar the students will present their results and discuss them. The lecturer will moderate and stimulate the discussion, but avoid giving too much direct input. Participation in seminars will be obligatory, and contributions made will be evaluated as indicated in the assessment section.
Practicals will be done individually and will consist of solving practical biostatistics problems using standard statistical computational tools in the IT classroom. The student will be given the practical protocol and materials before beginning. The student should complete the whole task during the session, answering a series of questions in a questionnaire in the Aula Global. This questionnaire will be marked by the teaching panel, who will include corrections and comments to provide feedback on the student's work. Likewise, a lecturer from the subject will be present throughout the practical session to answer queries and guide the student in solving the problems that have been set.
Additionally, a series of forum discussions will be initiated in the Aula Global, where themes related to biostatistics will be opened. Participation by the students in the form of reflection, discussion and debate is aimed at putting knowledge acquired in context, as well as promoting critical thought.
7. Programme of activities