HAR6035: Introduction to Statistics and Critical Appraisal
This campus-based module is led by Stephen Walters. It runs in the Autumn semester and is worth 15 credits.
Module description
This module introduces students to the basic concepts and techniques of medical statistics, such as hypothesis testing and confidence interval estimation.
Students will learn some simple statistical methods and the principles behind some of the more advanced techniques such as regression. It will equip students with the knowledge and skills necessary to understand and critically appraise statistics in research literature.
The course is not aimed at 'doers' of statistics; that is, students who are going to design their own studies to collect and analyse their own data. It will not teach you how to analyse, present and report your own data. If you require this, see HAR6045: Further Statistics for Health Science Researchers.
Objectives
On satisfactory completion of the course, a student will be able to:
- Classify and appropriately display and summarise different types of data.
- Describe the properties of the Normal distribution.
- Distinguish between a population and a sample, and describe the precision of a sample estimate of a population parameter.
- Explain the concept of confidence intervals as applied to means, proportions, differences in means, and differences in proportions.
- Describe the process of setting and testing statistical hypothesis.
- Distinguish between ‘statistical significance’ and ‘clinical significance/importance’.
- Evaluate the quality of published research.
Teaching
This module can also be taken as part of the following courses:
Lectures will be used to impart knowledge of key statistical concepts and methods, while structured exercise classes will apply these concepts to example data or published studies.
Additional information
An alternative online version of this module (HAR6042) is available for study in Semester 2.
Please note the HAR6035 course is aimed at “consumers” of statistics who need to be able to read the research literature. The course will train you to understand, interpret and critically appraise the statistics in the research literature.
The course IS NOT aimed at “doers” of statistics – students who are going to design their own studies to collect and analyse data. It will not teach you how to collect and analyse your own data. It will not train you on how to use statistical computer software packages such as SPSS to analyse your own data. For this you need to attend HAR6045 Further Statistics for Health Science Researchers in Semester 2.
Note that for DDP students, the default expectation is that such students will complete the formative online assessments and the final summative examination to assess their knowledge and understanding of the key issues; and their competence and confidence in applying these skills to read, understand, interpret and appraise the statistics in the medical and health-related research literature.
Fees and funding
You can find out more about fees and funding for CPD modules in the School of Medicine and Population Health at the link below. We accept sponsored as well as self-funding students.
How to apply
Find out what you need to do to apply for a CPD module in the School of Medicine and Population Health.
Contact
For more information on this module, speak to the lead academic:
The content of our courses is reviewed annually to make sure it is up-to-date and relevant. Individual modules are occasionally updated or withdrawn. This is in response to discoveries through our world-leading research, funding changes, professional accreditation requirements, student or employer feedback, outcomes of reviews, and variations in staff or student numbers. In the event of any change we'll consult and inform students in good time and take reasonable steps to minimise disruption.
Information last updated:
International scholarships
We offer a generous package of financial support for international students, including undergraduate and postgraduate taught scholarships worth £10,000 towards the annual tuition fee.
Applications are open for existing offer holders for programmes starting in autumn 2025.