Summer school: Introduction to Statistical Thinking and Data Analysis

This five-day summer school introduces the essential research and quantitative skills needed to interpret published research and perform a basic statistical analysis.

Details

Note: CASC are also running the summer school Introduction to Statistics and Regressions with R (TBC). Please be aware that there is some overlap, so attending both schools is not recommended.

Outline

H.G. Wells predicted that "statistical thinking will one day be as necessary for efficient citizenship as the ability to read and write"; in the era of 'fake news' and 'post-truth' some would argue that day has arrived! Statistics allows us to sift through claims being made and allows us to make our own informed judgements.

During this week-long course, participants will be introduced to the essential research and quantitative skills needed to interpret published research and understand their true meanings rather than relying on what we are told in abstracts. Topics covered as part of this summer school include:

How to develop a sound research question
Study design, sampling and confounding
Types of data
Graphical displays of data and results
Summarising numeric and categorical data
Quantifying differences and associations between groups
Hypothesis testing
Confidence intervals and p-values
Parametric and non-parametric statistical tests
Bootstrapping
Introduction to regression

No prior knowledge of statistical analysis is required.

Participants will also have the opportunity to attend one-to-one and group tuition sessions on the material taught throughout the week.

Objectives

By the end of the week, participants will be appropriately equipped to:

Set out a plan of analysis for a research question accounting for all types of data involved and aspects of their question
Choose the best way of graphically displaying their data and results
Choose the significance tests suitable to answer their question
Use results to make inferences about the wider population of interest and answer their research question

Location

UCL GOS Institute of Child Health, 30 Guilford Street, London, WC1N 1EH

The school will take place in a teaching room close to the Institute of Child Health. Specific details of the course venue will be supplied after registration.

The nearest underground station is Russell Square on the Piccadilly line. Holborn, Chancery Lane, Euston and Kings Cross stations are all within easy walking distance.

Timetable

10th - 14th August 2020 (Monday to Friday)

Day	Time	Details
Monday	9.30am - 10.15am	Registration and welcome pack (with tea, coffee and pastries)
	10.15am - 4.30pm	School day 1 *
	4.30pm - 6.00pm	Welcome reception
Tuesday	10.00am - 4.30pm	School day 2 *
Wednesday	10.00am - 4.30pm	School day 3 *
	from 6.00pm	Summer school dinner
Thursday	9.00am - 10.00am	Group tuition session †
	10.00am - 4.30pm	School day 4 *
	from 7.30pm	Evening at the theatre
Friday	9.00am - 10.00am	One-to-one tuition session †
	10.00am - 4.30pm	School day 5 *

*Each school day includes 4 sessions (1 hour 15 mins each). There will also be two 15 minute breaks (tea, coffee, fruit and biscuits included) and one hour for lunch (12.45pm - 1.45pm).

†These sessions are optional for those wanting extra time for practicals and/or help with the course material. The one-to-one tuition session must be booked in advance to ensure there are sufficient teachers available to meet the demand, please email ich.statscou@ucl.ac.uk to reserve your place after you have enrolled.

Note: The school will run from 9.30am on Monday until 4.30pm on Friday, but other aspects of the timetable are provisional and subject to change.

Evening social events

The organised social activities below are free to all summer school participants.

Monday: An evening reception, to welcome you and give you a chance to network with teaching staff and other participants. Drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) and snacks will be provided.

Tuesday: A free evening to explore London.

Wednesday: Summer school dinner.

Thursday: Any summer school in London would not be complete without a trip to the theatre.

Note: all group social activities are provisional and subject to change

Accommodation

Participants are responsible for securing their own accommodation and this should be arranged before arrival and funded independently.

UCL student accommodation is available and accepts short-term bookings from external visitors:

Frances Gardner house (£)
Ian Baker house (£)

Alternatively, the following hotels are less than 10 minutes walk to the teaching venue:

Morgan Hotel (££)
Mentone Hotel (££)
Holiday Inn (£££)
Mercure Hotel (£££)
Hilton DoubleTree (££££)

Fees and registration

Click here to register with early bird discount

Cost: £1,500 (early bird price of £1,200 available until 13th March)

This fee includes:

A welcome pack
Printed course materials
Extra one-to-one and group tuition
Refreshments during breaks
All lunches (from 12.45pm - 1.45pm)
All social events as listed in the 'evening social events' tab above

Cancellations

Please note that no refunds will be given for cancellations made within two weeks of the start date or for non-attendance. Cancellations made within two to four weeks of the start date will incur a fee of 25%.

Feedback

Thanks for a great course - it has really helped me get to grips with some of the theory and practical application of statistical thinking and will help me enormously in my role.

I very much enjoyed coming down to London or this course. I strongly believe that this course will bode well for my future and would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the staff that were involved in delivering the course.

I thought the course was excellent and really well organised. Thank you!

Excellent Training. Will recommend it to others (and have already done so). Excellent instructors and it never felt dull or irrelevant. Brilliant all round.