The course will cover a wider range of topics than would be typical of a single honours degree in statistics, and there is a much greater emphasis on practical work and the preparation of coursework reports than would normally feature at the undergraduate level. The opportunity to purse a dissertation topic in depth can provide particularly valuable experience for the student's subsequent career. Students on the Diploma and MSc often have diverse academic backgrounds. This course has been introduced to give a common starting point to the course and to prepare the ground for learning skills in practical statistics. To review how simple statistical techniques can be used as a vehicle for interference in a practical setting.
Teaching is by seminars and computer workshops and examinations by written assignments.
Design and Analysis is an essential component of many problems in practical statistics. The course is designed to give the student a thorough understanding of how an appropriate design of experiments can enhance the subsequent analysis of data and the inferences that can be made, with an emphasis on medical applications, including clinical trials, epidemiology, and survival analysis. The student is shown how to take a practical design problem, code it mathematically and then determine optimal or robust solutions to the problem. Teaching is by lecture and seminars given in the first two terms. Examination is by written assignments.