Course Objectives

Statistics is the science in which we make inferences about some specific random process based upon a sample of data which is sometimes quite limited. There are two major fields in statistics. The first deals with the theoretical underpinnings of the subject and focuses on developing new statistical methods and is called Mathematical Statistics. The second deals with the application of statistical methods to solve problems in a particular field of study and is termed Applied Statistics. Biostatistics is one area of Applied Statistics that concerns itself with the application of statistical methods to medical, biological and health related problems. This course is an introductory course in Biostatistics. It is a core course in the Master of Public Health (MPH) program here at the School of Public Health at the University at Albany.

This course is designed to teach public health students the basic principles of biostatistics. It can be a first course in biostatistics for those students who will use the knowledge they acquire to enable them to continue learning more advanced techniques in future statistical and biostatistical course work. It can also serve as the necessary base course in biostatistics for those who will go no further in acquiring advanced skills in biostatistics but who can use the knowledge they acquire to intelligently read journal articles that use biostatistical methods, interact effectively with professional biostatisticians in collaborative endeavors and understand the terminology of one of the core disciplines of public health.

By the end of this course you should:

• be able to discuss and explain what biostatistics is and how it is used in the field of public health
• be able to participate in on line discussions about any topic or subject using skills developed in this course
• be able to understand the common statistical techniques and terminology used in studies that are presented in the popular press and health related journals
• be able to use and understand the principal numeric and graphical techniques to display and summarize medical and health related data
• be able to understand the basic principles of probability and how they relate to biostatistics
• be familiar with the common probability distributions that are used in statistical inference
• be able to know what drawing a random sample from a population means and why it is important
• be familiar with the most common sampling distributions used in biostatistics
• be familiar with the concept of statistical inference
• be able to estimate the value of various population parameters from a sample of data
• be able to test the hypothesis that the value of a population parameter equals a certain value
• be familiar with the sources of vital statistics data, how to interpret such data and how to perform basic tests to evaluate them
• be familiar with the basic sources of population data in the United States, their uses in the field of public health and how populations are estimated
• be familiar with what a life table is and what information it provides

This sounds like a lot, but, these objectives are attainable for any student who gives a reasonable effort in this course. It will not require a super human effort, just a desire to learn, a willingness to regularly participate, and a dedication to complete all assignments in a timely manner.