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Recent research has investigated risk factors for melanoma. The study involved office workers and farm workers and the history of sunburn in both groups, as well as possible confounding factors such as the reaction of the skin to sun exposure, hair colour, skin freckling and the number of moles on the upper arm. The study is discussed in detail in Stat115.





Another study discussed in Stat115 reports the current prevalence of obesity and body fat distribution in the New Zealand population, and investigates whether there is a trend to increasing obesity. Body weight, height, skinfold, and waist and hip circumference were measured on 4420 New Zealanders as part of the 1997 National Nutrition Survey. The results are compared with data from 3300 people in the 1989 Life in New Zealand Survey.

There is evidence that body weight and body mass index have increased in recent years, that there is an increasing trend towards obesity, and that the proportion of the population likely to exhibit health risks is also increasing.




A study that is appraised in Stat115 investigated the relation of infant feeding practice to childhood respiratory illness, growth, body composition and blood pressure. The health of 674 infants was measured by considering respiratory illness, weight, height, percentage of body fat, and blood pressure, in relation to the duration of breast feeding and the timing of the introduction of solids.

Some key findings from the study were:
  • Exclusive breast feeding is associated with a significant reduction in childhood respiratory illness.
  • Early introduction of solids is associated with increased body fat and weight in childhood.
  • Exclusive bottle feeding is associated with higher systolic blood pressure in childhood.

STAT115 Introduction to Biostatistics

Second Semester, 18 points
Advances in our understanding of factors which affect health and wellbeing come through research in the health sciences. Examples of such research include:

* pattern of disease or risk factors for disease such as diet and smoking;
* studies to identify causes of disease;
* studies to find out if a newly developed treatment works;
* studies of factors which may prevent disease such as physical activity;
* does a cholesterol lowering drug have psychological side effects?;
* diet factors that enhance or inhibit iron levels in newborn babies;
* effect of circumcision on HIV/AIDS.

Biostatistics (statistics applied in the health sciences) is a vital tool in the mission to improve health and well-being for all people. STAT 115 provides an introduction to the core principles and methods of biostatistics. In this course you will gain an understanding of how statistics is used to answer research questions: how to look for patterns in data, how to test hypotheses about disease causation and prevention and improvement in well-being. The program SPSS will be used throughout the paper for data summary and statistical analysis. The understanding and skills gained in STAT 115 can be a starting point for a career in biostatistics or can be used to assist understanding of research in other disciplines including epidemiology, physiology, anatomy, human nutrition, sports science and psychology.

Paper details

Topics covered include an introduction to the research process, data exploration and measures for describing data, introduction to probability, binomial and normal distributions, estimation and confidence intervals, hypothesis testing, categorical data, simple linear regression, control of confounding, statistical issues in study design, and analysis of variance. Data analysed in the paper are exclusively from areas dealing with the human population. Special care is taken to integrate the statistical methodology during the semester with study design principles.

Potential students

This paper is intended for all students specializing in health sciences subjects such as nutrition, anatomy, genetics, epidemiology, sports science, psychology and the biomedical sciences in general. But it can also be taken by those who wish to specialize in statistics. The parallel paper taught in semester 1, STAT 110 Statistical Methods, is for students in the biological and some of the social sciences. STAT 115 serves as a pre-requisite for all subjects which have Stat110 as a pre-requisite. It will serve as an alternative to QUAN 101, BSNS102 or STAT 110 in the commerce core when it has been passed before enrolling for a BCom degree or when enrolling for a BCom and another degree for which STAT 115 is appropriate.

Main topics

  • Introduction to the research process and study design
  • Measures for describing data
  • Introduction to statistical program SPSS
  • Introduction to probability
  • Binomial and normal distributions
  • Estimation and confidence intervals
  • Hypothesis testing
  • Categorical data
  • Simple linear regression
  • Regression procedures and the control of confounding
  • The analysis of variation
  • Statistical issues in study design and critical appraisal

Prerequisites

None

Required text

Full lecture notes will be available for purchase through the University Print Shop located in the Central Library.
An on line course resource site will be available during the semester for exercise solutions and announcements.

Lecturers

Dr Janine Wright, room 237, Dept of Mathematics and Statistics.
Dr Katrina Sharples, Dept of Preventive and Social Medicine.

Lectures

Four 50-minute lectures per week as follows:
Monday 8am, Tuesday 5pm, Thursday 8am and Friday 8am.

Tutorials

At times to be arranged, with sufficient flexibility to avoid timetable clashes. These classes will begin in the first week of semester 2.

Internal Assessment

There will be nine assignments and two mastery tests. Assessment will be conducted on-line with mastery tests completed in the computer laboratory at 539 Castle Street.

You can check your marks by clicking on the Resources link at the top of this page.

Exam format

A three-hour exam which includes a multi-choice section of 50 questions and a written section which are combined to produce a mark out of 100.

Some old examination papers with answers will be placed on the resource page.

Final mark

The final mark F is calculated from:
F = max { E, (2E + A)/3 }
where E (exam mark) is out of 100, A (internal assessment) is out of 100.

The “max” corresponds to plussage: if your internal assessment mark is greater than your exam mark then it is combined in the proportion shown. If it is less then it is ignored and the exam mark itself is used.


Plagiarism

Students should make sure that all submitted work is their own. “Plagiarism is a form of dishonest practice. Plagiarism is defined as copying or paraphrasing another’s work and presenting it as one’s own” (University of Otago Calendar). In practice this means that plagiarism includes any attempt in any piece of submitted work (e.g. an assignment or test) to present as one’s own work the work of another (whether of another student or a published authority). Any student found to be responsible for plagiarism in any piece of work submitted for assessment shall be subject to the University’s dishonest practice regulations which may result in various penalties, including forfeiture of marks for the piece of work submitted, a zero grade for the paper, or in extreme cases exclusion from the University. The University of Otago reserves the right to use plagiarism detection tools.

While we strive to keep details as accurate and up-to-date as possible, information given here should be regarded as provisional. Individual lecturers will confirm teaching and assessment methods.