Statistical Sciences

The primary objective is to provide students with the main statistical techniques for the design and the analysis of clinical trials based on frequentist and Bayesian approaches. Knowledge and learning Upon completion of the course, students know the characteristics of the main experimental designs used in clinical studies. They are able to implement the fundamental procedures for the analysis of randomized clinical trials using different data (normal data, binary data, count responses and survival data). They know how to critically interpret the results, comparing the potentialities of the frequentist and the Bayesian approaches. Furthermore, they are able to apply suitable procedures for the determination of the optimal sample size based on different criteria. Applying knowledge and learning Upon completion of the course, students are able to apply the knowledge acquired, also through the use of the software R, in order to design clinical studies and to interpret the bresults of the statistical analyses Judgement skills Through their study and the various practical applications shown during the lessons, students develop the critical thinking that derives from the comparison between methodologies of analysis and design based on different approaches. Moreover, they acquire autonomous judgment skills that allow to identify the most appropriate methods to analyze clinical data, appropriately select the number of patients to enroll and choose the most suitable monitoring strategies. Communication skills Students, through the study and the performance of practical exercises, acquire the technical-scientific language of the discipline, that must be properly used both in the written and in the oral examinations. Learning skills Students who pass the exam have investigated issues concerning the application of inferential methods for the analysis and design of the clinical studies by exploiting both the frequentist and the Bayesian approach. This allows the development of autonomous skills to compare different procedures. Moreover, the group activities, which involve the use of the R software, develop communication abilities and enhance programming skills that will surely be useful to the students during the preparation of their final dissertation.