Units / PHI5041
PHI5041 · Introductory biostatistics
2027 Handbook6 credit pointsLevel 5Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine
Overview
This unit introduces you to biostatistics as applied to public health and management studies. Biostatistics is the science of describing, summarising, and analysing health-related data. It is essential to understand biostatistics in order to design, conduct, and interpret health-related research. The basic principles and methods used in biostatistics are covered in this unit. This includes the technical qualifications necessary for analysing and interpreting data on a descriptive and bivariate level. Topics include classifying health data; summarising data using simple statistical methods and graphical presentation; sampling distributions; quantifying uncertainty in results from a sample; working with statistical distributions; comparing two or more groups/methods using confidence intervals and hypothesis tests (p - values); assessing the association between an outcome and an exposure using the chi-squared test; using risk comparisons (RR and OR); predicting an event or identifying risk factors for an event of interest where the event is measured on a continuous scale or a binary scale (yes/no).
Areas of study: Public health Biostatistics
Offerings
| Campus | Teaching period | Mode |
|---|---|---|
| Indonesia | Monash Indonesia term 2 | Teaching activities are on-campus (ON-CAMPUS) |
Assessment
The Handbook does not list a final examination among the assessment items. That is not a guarantee there is none.
| # | Assessment | Type | Weight | Hurdle |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Summarizing data (2,000 words), plus cover page, tables, and graphs | Exercise | 20% | — |
| 2 | Evaluating research hypothesis (2,500 words) plus cover page, tables, and graphs | Written | 35% | — |
| 3 | Evaluation of advanced research hypotheses (3,000 words) plus cover page, tables, and graphs | Written | 45% | — |
Assessment details may change. Please refer to the assessment information in Moodle closer to the start of the teaching period.
Requisites
Learning outcomes
- Classify data into appropriate measurement types.
- Present data using relevant tables, graphical displays, and summary statistics, quantify uncertainty in study results.
- Formulate research hypotheses into a statistical context in public health studies.
- Estimate quantities of interest and evaluate hypothesis with appropriate statistical methods.
- Accurately interpret statistical methods and results reported in health publications.
- Analyse data using a specific software package.
Workload
24 hours per week including directed and self-directed learning (scheduled classes, prescribed activities and independent work).
| Activity | Duration |
|---|---|
| Lectures | 2 hours |
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