Stats #34: Statistical Evidence. Mountain or molehill? (October 14, 2002)

Stats #34: Statistical Evidence: Mountain or Molehill?

Content: This class is an expansion of the material covered in "How to Read a Medical Journal Article." It helps you assess the evaluation of outcomes in a research study so you can decide whether the study has a clinically relevant impact. The talk requires no mathematical background and uses no formulas.

Objectives: In this class you will learn how to:

explain how a narrow focus provides better quality evidence;
assess the impact of post hoc protocol changes;
evaluate the quality of outcome measures; and
recognize the ethical and practical limitations of a study when the sample size is too small;

Teaching strategies: Didactic lectures and small group exercises.

IRB Education Credits: This class qualifies for 3 IRB Education Credits (IRBECs).

Outline:

Overview of the STATS web pages
Consulting services that I provide
Statistical Evidence: Overview (not available on the web handout)
Chapter 3 of Statistical Evidence (not available on the web handout)
Please fill out an evaluation form

Overview of the STATS web pages (January 21, 2000)

What are the STATS web pages?

The STATS pages are a collection of handouts that I use in my job as a statistical consultant. The web provides a nice home for these handouts, because as I update my material, the newest version is immediately available to anyone who is interested.

Where can I find STATS?

If you have a web browser, like Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator, you can surf on over to my site,

http://www.childrensmercy.org/stats

which is also found at http://internet1/stats, if you are attached to the Children's Mercy Hospital network. There are two obsolete sites: http://www.cmh.edu/stats and http://simon/stats. Do not use either of these sites.

Some of the fun stuff you can find on the STATS web pages.

Ask Professor Mean. For the tough Statistics questions that Dear Abby won't touch.

Planning Your Research Study. Things you need to plan for before you start collecting your data.

Selecting An Appropriate Sample Size. How much data do you really need?

Managing Your Research Data. Everything you want to know before you step to the keyboard.

Steps In a Typical Data Analysis. I have my data on the computer. Now what?

How to Read a Medical Journal Article. Reading a journal is hard work. Here's some help.

Professor Mean's Library. Good books and good web sites about Statistics.

... and even more good stuff!!!

This webpage was written by Steve Simon, edited by Linda Foland, and was last modified on 07/08/2008. Send feedback to ssimon at cmh dot edu or click on the email link at the top of the page. Category: Website details

For CMH employees only: Statistical Consulting Services.

You can get free statistical consulting if you work for Children's Mercy Hospital. Steve Simon and Ashley Sherman provide a wide range of statistical consulting services to help you with your research projects. This help can start as early as the initial planning of your research. I also help with the analysis of your data, using SPSS or other statistical software. We can also provide assistance with the preparation of your presentations and publications.

Here area some examples of the services that we have provided:

setting up your research hypothesis,

selecting and justifying your sample size,

writing the statistical methods section for your grant,

preparing randomization tables for your study,

reviewing your surveys for content and quality,

developing a system for entering your data,

choosing an appropriate statistical model for your data,

establishing validity and/or reliability for your measurement scales,

checking for violations of statistical assumptions in your data,

producing graphs and tables for your research publication, and

providing references for new and unusual statistical methods.

Specific statistical advice has been outlined on a series of web pages which can be found at http://www.childrensmercy.org/stats/. The pages provide advice about planning your research, selecting an appropriate sample size, managing your research data, performing a variety of data analyses, presenting research data, and writing research papers.

How to get in touch with a statistician

If you would like to meet with Steve Simon or Ashley Sherman, you can set up an appointment by emailing or calling Judy Champion (jmchampion (at) cmh (dot) edu or 816-983-6784). If you have a very simple question, send an email directly to us (ssimon (at) cmh (dot) edu and aksherman (at) cmh (dot) edu).

This webpage was written by Steve Simon on 2003-04-30, edited by Steve Simon, and was last modified on 2008-07-08. Send feedback to ssimon at cmh dot edu or click on the email link at the top of the page. Category: Professional details

Directions to my new office (April 25, 2008).

I have moved to a new office. It is a modular building just north of Children's Mercy Hospital. It is between 23rd and 22nd street, just off of Kenwood Avenue (Kenwood is a small north/south street just west of Holmes). If you need to get from your office to mine, here are some directions written by my Administrative Assistant, Judy Champion.

Take the elevator of the research tower down to the yellow level. Exit the employee parking garage on 23rd Street, walk to Kenwood and cross 23rd Street. Your destination is Building M 3 which is the building closest to 22nd Street. However, the entrance to our building faces Building M 2. It’s best to walk into the parking area that is just north of Building M 1 and follow the sidewalk around the west side of building M 2 in order to get to our building’s entrance on its south side. Another route would be to exit the Hospital Hill Center Building on Holmes and then walk ½ block north to 23rd Street, cross 23rd Street, walk west to Kenwood then north to building M 3 address 2220 Kenwood.

This webpage was written by Steve Simon and was last modified on 2008-07-14. Send feedback to ssimon at cmh dot edu or click on the email link at the top of the page. Category: Professional details

Statistical Evidence: Overview is not available on the web. A handout based on the overview of my upcoming book publication will be included as a separate handout.

Statistical Evidence: Overview is not available on the web. A handout based on chapter 3 of my upcoming book publication will be included as a separate handout.

Please fill out an evaluation form. Your input is important. These evaluation forms also ensure that we can offer Continuing Medical Education credits for this class.