Biostatistics involves the empirical approach to biological research, which includes 1) the critical analysis of existing literature for purposes of forming a hypothesis; 2) designing a study to empirically test this hypothesis using biologically derived data (biosignals); 3) obtaining biosignals in a methodologically valid and reliable manner; 4) to analyse these data using basic biostatistics software in order to infer the likelihood of the hypothesis; 5) to communicate the findings to other researchers and the wider world.
As we target CCBS students, I believe the most relevant focus of biological research is brain and cognition research, and will therefore target EEG as our biosignal. However, a sound understanding of EEG analysis will enable you to apply these skills to any type of biosignal analysis, or indeed most other forms of signal analyses (e.g. time/frequency analysis, kinesthetics).
Course Requirements (100%)
1) Attendance/participation: 20%
2) Presentation/Quiz/Assignment: 20%
3) Mid-term exam: 0%
4) Final exam: 60%
- Attendance will be taken at the beginning of each class. Participation will be assessed via an online quiz taken near the end of the class, with all answers provided over the course of the evening.
- Over the course of the module, you, as a group of 4-6 students, will be producing video material to document your growing knowledge of biostatistics as a portfolio. You may freely assign one another roles for this process; for example, you may be good at working with software, or at communicating data, so you can play to your personal strengths. At the end of the module, each group will send me a short (less than 200 words) reasoning whether everyone contributed equally or not.
- The final exam will be taken as an oral exam. We will together view all videos, with a question & answer session at the end of each video. I will evaluate the learning outcomes using both the video and your answers (each group member will answer at least one question).
- Teacher: mspape, Spape Michiel