PM516b Overview¶

PM516B: Statistical Problem Solving (Applied Biostatistical Consulting)
1 Unit

Course Overview¶

Course Description¶

This course will reinforce concepts in biostatistical consulting and will expose students to the applied practice of biostatistical consulting. It will help statisticians and data analysts practice the necessary skills for successfully interacting with non-statistician collaborators. Under faculty supervision, the student will meet with an investigator and independently conduct statistical analysis throughout the semester.

Learning Objectives¶

Through this course, students will gain additional experience in statistical consulting. Students will: * Recall and apply the consulting principles learned in PM516a. * Summarize research questions and implement appropriate biostatistical methods to address such questions, understanding how different methodologies affect conclusions. * Apply statistical tools they have learned in their program to produce a meaningful analysis. * Evaluate statistical interactions with non-statistician collaborators to improve the quality of such interactions. * Understand how to work with individuals from diverse content domains. * Create comprehensive, coherent consulting reports and interpret analyses for dissemination materials, such as the results sections of a manuscript.

Course Preparation¶

Prerequisites: PM516a (this course assumes familiarity with basic statistics and regression analysis)

Assessments¶

Students will each be assigned a project and will use the semester to perform statistical analyses and create an analysis report for the client collaborator. As a 1-unit course, students are expected to spend approximately 30 hours on the analysis and writing of the project. All work should be completed before the last day of class.

This course is graded credit/no credit and there is no point breakdown. Instead, students must complete all of the following:

Required Trainings¶

Students will be working with real data from investigators at USC and must complete the appropriate required trainings. There are three trainings offered by CITI (https://about.citiprogram.org/) that must be completed by the third week of the semester:

CITI Biomedical Human Subjects
CITI Responsible Conduct of Research
CITI Research HIPAA
Students may need to complete additional project-specific trainings

Required Meetings with Deliverables¶

This is a practicum-type course and students will develop additional skills through their interactions with the instructor and collaborator. Students must proactively schedule at least 5 meetings over the semester:

Initial Meeting. Once the project is assigned, the student will schedule a meeting with the collaborator (and instructor, if possible). After the meeting, the student must send the collaborator and instructor a consultation follow-up e-mail that discusses the scope of work and appropriate timelines for the project.
Interim Meetings. At least one interim meeting should be scheduled with the instructor and client collaborator to discuss statistical or substantive issues with the analysis, with additional meetings on an as-needed basis.
Final Meeting (Instructor). Before presenting the final analyses to the collaborator, the student should schedule a meeting with the instructor to review the accuracy and interpretation of results to be presented.
Final Meeting (Collaborator). The final meeting will be focused on presenting the analyses to the collaborator (and instructor should be included, if possible).

Analysis Report¶

An analysis report should be delivered to the collaborator in advance of the final meeting. There are different ways to accomplish this. For example, the PM516a textbook offers one template, while I use this template. Be sure to use all principles learned in PM516a when completing the analysis report.

Debriefing¶

By the end of the semester, students must submit documentation of the hours worked, much like a consultant would submit an invoice of their work performed. The template can be downloaded in Word format here.

After presenting the final analysis report, the collaborator will be sent an evaluation form for constructive feedback on the student’s performance. Students should acknowledge the receipt of this feedback. This evaluation serves as feedback to the student but will not affect their final grade in the course.

Deliverables Schedule¶

By Week 2 (1/20)¶

IRB Preparation¶

🎥 How IRBs Protect Human Research Participants (7 Minutes)

🖥️ USC iStar IRB (2 Minutes)
Log into the USC iStar site. This will create an account for you in the system.

By Week 3 (1/27)¶

CITI Trainings¶

🖥️ Required CITI Trainings
Navigate to the USC CITI training website and click on the CITI Program link. At the CITI site, click LOG IN THROUGH MY ORGANIZATION. Then, click on "Add A Course."
You will need to complete the following trainings:

CITI Biomedical Human Subjects
CITI Responsible Conduct of Research
CITI Research HIPAA
Students may need to complete additional project-specific trainings

By Week 4 (2/3)¶

Project Assignment & Initial Meeting¶

Schedule and complete a meeting with your collaborator (and instructor, if possible).
Send a follow-up e-mail to the collaborator (cc: instructor) that discusses:

A brief summary of the research uestion
The scope of work you will perform
Estimated timelines for your work

By Week 14 (4/14)¶

Analysis, Interim Meetings, and Feedback¶

Work on and complete your analysis
Work on and complete your analysis report
Work on and complete the mock invoice
Schedule at least 1 meeting with the instructor and/or collaborator, additional as needed

By Week 15 (4/21)¶

Final Check-In¶

Schedule a meeting with the instructor to review your work

By Week 16 (4/28)¶

Final Deliverable¶

Schedule a meeting with the collaborator (and instructor, if possible) to present your analysis
Submit your analysis report
Submit your mock invoice