Study Design in Epidemiology

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2012:

Block

120 hours

(both concurrently)

OR

None

Students are expected to be familiar with the statistical package Stata

None

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Description, Subject Objectives, Generic Skills and Assessment Requirements of this entry.
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This subject is a core subject within the Master of Epidemiology and the Master of Science (Epidemiology) and an elective within the Master of Public Health.

In this subject a comprehensive examination of the main epidemiological study designs is undertaken. Methodological issues in study design will be illustrated using practical examples and critical appraisal. The following designs will be covered: trials, cohort studies, case-control studies and ecological studies. For these types of studies, issues relevant to designing new studies and appraising reported studies will be explored: choice of design, selection of participants, measurement of exposures and outcomes, effect modification, overview of analytical techniques and power calculations. Causal diagrams as a unifying means for identifying confounding and selection bias and interpreting associations will also be covered.

At the completion of this subject students should be able to:

• Design epidemiological studies with appropriate regard to choosing an appropriate design to answer a specific research question, minimising bias, achieving adequate sample size and feasibility
• Compare the relative strengths and weaknesses of the common epidemiological study designs
• Use causal diagrams to assist in distinguishing causal relations from non-causal associations and to plan statistical analyses
• Use published guidelines for the reporting of trials and observational studies to assist with designing and appraising studies
• Critically appraise epidemiological literature
• Calculate sample sizes for the most common types of epidemiological studies
• Differentiate internal and external validity and explain how achieving high internal validity might compromise external validity and vice versa
• Compare different methods of measurement used in epidemiological studies

• Short written group summary of responses to questions based on assigned weekly reading and a group preparation of questions on assigned reading on one occasion during semester (approximately 500 words per group of 5 students each week) to be completed from week 6 to week 12 (20%);
• One 1000 word assignment due in week 9 (20%);
• One 1500 word assignment due in the frist week of the examination period (30%);
• One 1.5 hour examination (administered by the School) held during the last week of the examination period (30%).

None

Rothman KJ, Greenland S, Lash TL. Modern Epidemiology. (3rd edition) Lippincott-Raven: Philadelphia 2008

Kelsey JL, Whittemore AS, Evans AS, Thompson WD. Methods in observational epidemiology. (2nd edition) Oxford: New York 1996

Elwood M. Critical appraisal of epidemiological studies and clinical trials. (3rd edition) Oxford, Oxford 2007

Kirkwood BR, Sterne JAC. Essential medical statistics. (2nd edition) Blackwell Science: Melbourne 2003

Webb P, Bain C, Pirozzo S. Essential epidemiology. Cambridge: Melbourne 2005

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

At the completion of this subject, students will have developed skills in :

• Critical thinking and analysis
• Initiative, autonomy and organization
• Finding, evaluating and using relevant information
• Oral communication
• Working with others and in teams