Clinical studies succeed or fail on the strength of their statistics. This course takes a practical approach to address the fundamental statistical concepts essential for non-statisticians involved in clinical research. Through lectures, discussions and in-class exercises, the instructor explores clinical study designs, hypothesis testing, sample size calculations, assumptions, controls, endpoints, data-management principles, data presentations and analysis plans, methods of analysis, and conclusions. You'll learn how to interpret the statistics commonly encountered in clinical research as well as how to communicate effectively with statisticians. The approach is practical, simple and qualitative. No previous background in statistics is required.

Learning Outcomes

At the conclusion of the course, you should be able to

• Identify quantitative methods for torturing data
• Recognize concepts such as variability, confidence intervals, hypothesis testing, and p-values
• Distinguish various study designs and identify techniques to avoid bias in current and new studies
• Knowledgeably review the medical literature
• Comfortably communicate with a professional biostatistician

Topics Include

• Estimation vs hypothesis testing
• Parametric vs nonparametric tests
• Clinical trial designs

Working knowledge of:

• Communication and collaboration tools such as Google Workspace, Microsoft Office, or LibreOffice
• Learning Management Systems (LMS) such as Canvas including navigation links, modules, etc.

Additional Information

Please review section notes to view the full schedule.

Professional Credit

CA BRN/LVN Credit--Provider #CEP13114