The Research Process Formulate a research hypothesis (involves a lit review) Design a study Conduct the study (i.e., collect data) Analyze the data (using both descriptive and inferential statistics) Decision about support for the research hypothesis

Why is this course important? “Statistics is not just a collection of computational techniques. It is a way of thinking about the world. Anyone can take a set of numbers and apply formulas to them... There is no point to analyzing data from a study that was not properly designed to answer the research question under investigation. In fact, there's a real point in refusing to analyze such data lest faulty results be responsible for implementing a program or policy contrary to what's really needed.” -- Gerard E. Dallal

“Issues of design always trump issues of analysis.” Why is this course important? “To propose that poor design can be corrected by subtle analysis techniques is contrary to good scientific thinking.” -- Stuart Pocock (Controlled Clinical Trials, p 58) regarding the use of retrospective adjustment for trials with historical controls. “Issues of design always trump issues of analysis.” -- GE Dallal, explaining to a client why it would be wasted effort to analyze data from a study whose design was fatally flawed. "The combination of some data and an aching desire for an answer does not ensure that a reasonable answer can be extracted from a given body of data.” -- John Tukey

Course Catalog Description This course will provide an introduction to study design and proper methods of data collection. Students will gain an overview of… the research cycle, basic principles of experimental design, observational studies, effective design of survey instruments, examples of study bias, and ethical considerations in the conduct of research.

Course Outline Overview of Research Cycle Formulating a research question Study design Data collection Descriptive and inferential analysis Drawing appropriate conclusions Design of Experiments Basic definitions (factors, treatments, exp. units) Confounding variables Fundamental concepts (control, randomization, replication) Placebos, blinding CRDs, RCBDs, crossover studies, longitudinal studies

Course Outline Observational Studies Prospective, retrospective, and cross-sectional studies Effects of confounding variables Matching methods Surveys Sampling methods (probability sampling methods, non-probability sampling methods, comparison of sampling error estimates) Questionnaire design Reliability and Validity Bias

Course Outline Ethical Considerations in the Design of Studies Ethical treatment of research subjects Responsibility to apply sampling and analysis procedures scientifically, without pre-determining the outcome Responsibility to clearly report the intent of a study, how it was performed, and any limitations on its validity

Student Feedback The thing I liked most about this course was… “I liked learning about the different ethical dilemmas that we may run into as statisticians.” “I enjoyed the class discussions and presentations.” “I liked the casual discussion type atmosphere.” “Actually getting to construct a few legitimate surveys” “The real life studies.” “The topic itself. I think this side of stats is so interesting. I really enjoyed this course.” “It was a nice change of pace from quantitative classes.”