150222 Veterinary Epidemiology, part 2

Details
Responsible DepartmentDepartment of Large Animal Sciences

Earliest Possible YearPost experience Master´s Programme
DurationOutside schedule
 
Credits6 (ECTS)
 
Level of CoursePost experience masters programme
 
ExaminationFinal Examination

oral examination


All aids allowed

Description of Examination: The participant must submit an indivudual project report. The report is defended at an oral exam with 15 minutes for presentation, and 15 minutes for questions from the examiners. The exam takes places in e-learning environment

pass/fail, internal examiner
 
Requirement for Attending ExamProject report has been handed in. The student has actively been engaged in discussions in e-learning environment
 
Organisation of TeachingThe course is taught during weeks 43-50, 2011 as an e-learning course. During this period, the participants must write a report with analyses of epidemiological data as a basis for oral examination. Own data can be used if approved by the course leader.
 
Block PlacementOutside schedule
Week Structure: Outside schedule, The course lasts 8 weeks as e-learning course, including a project period and exam
 
Language of InstructionEnglish
 
Optional Prerequisites150221 
 
Mandatory Prerequisites150221 
 
Course Content
This is an advanced course in epidemiology focusing on statistical methods used in epidemiology to analyze continuous, dichotomous and count data. The course is not a statistics course. Rather, the aim of the course is to enable the participant to establish the coherence between hypotheses, data and suitable analyses - and to carry out, present and interpret the results of such analyses on the participants own data in the form of an outline of a manuscript for an international journal.


The course focus on epidemiological analysis of continuous and dichotomous data. Descriptors are hypothesis testing, causality and bias, correlation and linear regression, analysis of variance, assumptions, Chi-square test, logistic regression and logistic analysis, multivariable logistic analysis, interaction, confounding and non-parametric analyses.
 
Teaching and learning Methods
The course is taught as an e-learning course, where the student should provide a project report. During the study period, the student is expected to continously: a) present project parts in e-learning environment, as the basis for discussions with peers, b) contribute to the discussion of other students' report-parts The students will work in groups. Each participant can provide own data set to be used for the project report. If these data are not found suitable by the course leader for the project report, other students' data will be used, or the course will provide suitable data. The data must be available at the beginning of the first course week. The course will use R software for data analyses. The participants should have skills in Epidemiology and R equivalent to Veterinary epidemiology, part 1 (course no 150221).
 
Learning Outcome
The aim of the course is that the participant can establish the coherence between hypotheses, data and suitable analyses - and carry out, present and interpret the results of such analyses on the participants own data in the form of an outline of a manuscript for an international journal.

At the end of the course it is expected that the participant has the following qualifications:

Knowledge:
Identify an epidemiological problem to be investigated using relevant analytical methods.
Specifically, the participant should be able to indentify and address potential problems in the data, such as bias and/or confounding and unwanted clustering.

Skills:
Use relevant epidemiological and statistical methods for descriptive and analytical epidemiological studies.

Competences:
Collaborate scientifically with epidemiologists and statisticians and other relevant scientists. Be able to evaluate the validity and reliability of the epidemiological results in relation to generalising to other populations than just the study population.
 
Course Literature
Houe H, Ersbøll AK, Toft N: Introduction to Veterinary Epidemiology. Biofolia. 2004.
Dohoo I, Martin W, Stryhn H: Veterinary Epidemiologic Research. 2nd ed. Ver Inc. 2009.
 
Course Coordinator
Søren Saxmose Nielsen, ssn@life.ku.dk, Department of Large Animal Sciences/Populationsbiology, Phone: 353-33096
Jens Frederik Gramstrup Agger, jfa@life.ku.dk, Department of Large Animal Sciences/Populationsbiology, Phone: 353-33013
 
Study Board
Study Committee V
 
Work Load
theoretical exercises20
practicals20
preparation40
project work84
examination1

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