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Application Deadline: June 28, 2013

A complete online version of this course will be available to a limited number of students on a first come, first served basis. Other students may choose to participate in any combination of in-person and online activities. Please note the online computer lab session will be held on Fridays from 8:00 to 9:00 am (Pacific Time).

OBJECTIVES

Performing clinical research in the current era requires the use of computers, meaning a high level of competency in the use of database, spreadsheet, and statistical software programs. This course is designed to introduce you to these programs, prepare you for subsequent courses in the clinical research curriculum, and, in particular, teach you the skills you will need to start exploring your own clinical research data using statistical software.

The specific objectives are to provide students with an introduction to:

• The roles of spreadsheet, relational database and statistical software packages such as STATA in analyzing clinical research data;
• Using STATA for importing, cleaning, managing, describing and analyzing clinical research data;
• Applying concepts from other TICR program courses using STATA and Excel; and
• Applying these skills to analyzing data from your own research project.
  
  

PREREQUISITES

None.

FACULTY

FORMAT

Both an in-person, online, and hybrid versions of the course are offered. The online version will feature the exact materials as the in-person version, with content being delivered through online recordings of the weekly lectures as well as online web conferencing for online computer lab/office hours sessions. The online version also features the same access to course faculty for discussion and questions as the in-person version.

1. Lectures: Tuesdays: 1:15 to 2:45 PM. Lectures will take place in Genentech Hall N114, Misson Bay. Lecture recordings will be available online later in the day. To determine if you have sufficient bandwidth to view online lectures, please visit our demonstration site. All students are invited to in-person lectures, and all students will have access to online lecture recordings.
   
   
2. Computer Labs: Tuesdays: 3:00 to 4:00 PM. Computer Labs will be held in Genentech Hall N114, Mission Bay. The purpose of the computer labs is for students to have access to course faculty for questions as they work through the weekly course material. All students will be assigned to a lab section, even those who will not be attending in person. This will determine which TA grades your assignments, and which TA’s you should e-mail for help between Sessions (though we recommend using the Online Discussion Forum, see below).
   
   
3. Online Office Hours: Fridays: 8:00 to 9:00 AM Pacific Time. These sessions will be staffed by Assistant Course Director Jennifer Cocohoba. For students who are not located in the San Francisco Bay Area and who will not be attending Lab Sessions in person, these will serve as an Online Computer Lab, and we recommend that you participate regularly in these sessions.
   
   
4. Online Discussion Forum. This resource will be available to all students. Once class starts, we request that you pose all questions for TA’s and course faculty between sessions through the Forum so that other students can see the answers (and may respond or search the Forum themselves).

More detail about online instruction in the TICR Program is available.

SOFTWARE AND TEXTBOOKS

Required:

STATA 12 or 13 (or prior version)
The statistical software package Stata (Stata Corporation, College Station, Texas) is used throughout the TICR Program and is required for this course. We strongly recommend that you purchase a personal copy of this program and bring a laptop to all lab sessions. You can also get access to STATA in the Technology Commons computer lab on the 2nd floor of the library at Parnassus (using your mail@UCSF, UCare, or your staff computer credential). The lab sessions will be much less useful, however, if you cannot actually work on the assignments during the lab, so make every effort to bring your laptop with Stata loaded.

Please note: Stata version 12 is what the company is currently selling. Stata version 13 will likely be released near the start date of the course. You may wish to delay your purchase accordingly, but please make sure you'll have time to receive and install some version of Stata before the first day of class. If you do purchase Stata 12, you will find that it is full featured and can manage virtually all tasks you might need to conduct. Stata will also offer relatively inexpensive upgrade options to Stata 13 once it is available. Our course will support both versions 12 and 13.

Microsoft Excel
Widely available, including on all UCSF library computers and China Basin terminals.

Optional:
Some students find it is helpful to have an additional reference resource. These books are not required but might be useful.

A Visual Guide to Stata Graphics by Michael N Mitchell. Stata Press, 2012. Useful reference for creating figures.

An Introduction to Stata for Health Researchers by Svend Juul & Morten Frydenberg. Stata Press, 2010. Nice overview and instruction on many basic topics.

Principles of Biostatistics by Pagano & Gauvreau. Second edition. Duxbury Press, 2000.

Books may be purchased either through the publisher or a variety of commercial venues (e.g., Amazon.com).

GRADING

Grades will be based on the Lab assignments and the Final Project. Lab assignments will be due by the start of lecture the following week, and should be e-mailed to the course email address at either Biostat212_section1@yahoo.com or Biostat212_section2@yahoo.com. Labs turned in <1 week late will receive half credit; after that, no points will be awarded. The Final Project, a Table and Figure created from your own data, will count for about half of the roughly 320 total points possible for the course.

Students must hand in all six labs (even if late), must complete a satisfactory Final Project, and must receive at least 80% of the total number of points assigned during the quarter to receive a Satisfactory (if taking Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory) or B (if taking for a letter grade) in the course.

Students who satisfactorily pass all course requirements will receive a Certificate of Course Completion.

ENROLLMENT

APPLICATION

Partial scholarships may be available, upon justification, to scholars residing in countries with low income or lower middle income economies as defined by the World Bank. If you believe you are eligible for a scholarship, please send a justification of less than one page to Olivia DeLeon at olivia@epi.ucsf.edu. In the justification, include the country in which you reside, your current income, and your access, if any, to educational funds from local institutions. Please also send your curriculum vitae (CV). Note that the scholarship does not include cost of textbook, any software, or any local costs associated with accessing a high-speed internet connection.