- Academic Registry
Programme & Unit Catalogues


MA30086: Medical statistics

[Page last updated: 03 August 2022]

Academic Year: 2022/23
Owning Department/School: Department of Mathematical Sciences
Credits: 6 [equivalent to 12 CATS credits]
Notional Study Hours: 120
Level: Honours (FHEQ level 6)
Period:
Semester 1
Assessment Summary: CW 25%, EX 75%
Assessment Detail:
  • Coursework (CW 25%)
  • Examination (EX 75%)
Supplementary Assessment:
Like-for-like reassessment (where allowed by programme regulations)
Requisites: Before taking this module you must take MA20227
Learning Outcomes: On completing the course, students will be able to:
* Recognise the key statistical features of a medical research problem, and, where appropriate, suggest a suitable study design;
* Summarize medical data and identify possible sources of bias;
* Use R to analyse data from routinely-collected health data sources, epidemiological studies, and clinical trials;
* Understand the ethical considerations and governance problems related to biomedical studies.

Aims: To introduce the statistical terminology specific to medical applications; to describe a range of techniques suitable for use in typical medical problems; to focus on questions that are of particular interest to medical practitioners; and to emphasise the explanation of statistical ideas and methods to clinicians.

Skills: Numeracy T/F A
Problem Solving T/F A
Written and Spoken Communication T/F A
Computing Skills T/F

Content: Revision of statistical tests set in a medical context and introduction of non-parametric tests. Measures of risk inepidemiology; incidence and prevalence and formulation of hypothesis tests and confidence intervals. Methods of standardization and standardized mortality ratios. Demographic life tables. Diagnostic tests and measures of agreement. Design of medical experiments and ethical considerations. Clinical trials: phases I to IV of drug development and testing. Possible sources of bias in medical studies; randomization, blinding, patient withdrawals and "intent to treat" analysis. Observational studies; cohort and case-control studies. Relative risks and odds ratios; developing hypothesis tests and confidence intervals and interpretation. Sample size calculations. Survival analysis: censoring, life tables, survivor and hazard functions, Kaplan-Meier product limit estimator, log-rank test, Cox's proportional hazards model.

Programme availability:

MA30086 is Optional on the following programmes:

Department of Economics
  • UHES-AFB04 : BSc(Hons) Economics and Mathematics (Year 3)
  • UHES-AAB04 : BSc(Hons) Economics and Mathematics with Study year abroad (Year 4)
  • UHES-AKB04 : BSc(Hons) Economics and Mathematics with Year long work placement (Year 4)
  • UHES-ACB04 : BSc(Hons) Economics and Mathematics with Combined Placement and Study Abroad (Year 4)
Department of Mathematical Sciences
  • USMA-AFB15 : BSc(Hons) Mathematical Sciences (Year 3)
  • USMA-AAB16 : BSc(Hons) Mathematical Sciences with Study year abroad (Year 4)
  • USMA-AKB16 : BSc(Hons) Mathematical Sciences with Year long work placement (Year 4)
  • USMA-AFB13 : BSc(Hons) Mathematics (Year 3)
  • USMA-AAB14 : BSc(Hons) Mathematics with Study year abroad (Year 4)
  • USMA-AKB14 : BSc(Hons) Mathematics with Year long work placement (Year 4)
  • USMA-AFB01 : BSc(Hons) Mathematics and Statistics (Year 3)
  • USMA-AAB02 : BSc(Hons) Mathematics and Statistics with Study year abroad (Year 4)
  • USMA-AKB02 : BSc(Hons) Mathematics and Statistics with Year long work placement (Year 4)
  • USMA-AFB05 : BSc(Hons) Statistics (Year 3)
  • USMA-AAB06 : BSc(Hons) Statistics with Study year abroad (Year 4)
  • USMA-AKB06 : BSc(Hons) Statistics with Year long work placement (Year 4)
  • USMA-AFM14 : MMath(Hons) Mathematics (Year 3)
  • USMA-AFM14 : MMath(Hons) Mathematics (Year 4)
  • USMA-AAM15 : MMath(Hons) Mathematics with Study year abroad (Year 4)
  • USMA-AKM15 : MMath(Hons) Mathematics with Year long work placement (Year 4)
  • USMA-AKM15 : MMath(Hons) Mathematics with Year long work placement (Year 5)

Notes:

  • This unit catalogue is applicable for the 2022/23 academic year only. Students continuing their studies into 2023/24 and beyond should not assume that this unit will be available in future years in the format displayed here for 2022/23.
  • Programmes and units are subject to change in accordance with normal University procedures.
  • Availability of units will be subject to constraints such as staff availability, minimum and maximum group sizes, and timetabling factors as well as a student's ability to meet any pre-requisite rules.
  • Find out more about these and other important University terms and conditions here.