Please note - Swinburne University of Technology

Subject aim
This subject aims to describe and understand some of the
methodologies used in survey research carried out in the
health sciences.
Subject description
The subject will inclue an introduction to:
(i) data collection methods including questionnaire design,
interview techniques (personal and telephone), mail surveys
and census methods;
(ii) sampling methods and obtaining estimates of sampling
errors. Overview of basic probability methods such as simple
random sampling, stratified sampling, cluster sampling and
multi-stage sampling. Determination of sample size;
(iii) basic techniques to analyse surwy data such as
construction of indices and scales. Examples will be drawn
from areas such as health sciences, sociology, psychology,
economics and marketing.
References
Abrahamson. J.A. Survey Methods in Community Medicine. London:
Churchill and Livingston, 1984
Crockett, R.A. An Introduction to Sample Surveys - A Users Guide.
Melbourne: ABS Cat. No. 1202.2, 1990
de Vaus, D.A. Surveys in Social Researrh. 3rd ed, Sydney: Allen &
Unwin. 1991
Leedy, ED. Practical Research: Planning and Design. 5th ed, New
York: Macmillan. 1993
~evy, P.S. and Lemeshow, 5. Sampling of Populations. New York:
Wiley, 1991
Moser, C, and Kalton, G. Survey Methods in Social Invest,gdtion.
London: Heinemann, 1979
5~754 lntroduction to Health Statistics
12.5 credit points
No. of hours per week: four hours
Prerequisites: SM751 and SM750
Instruction: class teaching and workshops
supplemented by audio-visual presentations and
computer laboratory sessions
Assessment: practical and theoretical tests
Subject aims
This subject aims to introduce students to statistical
measures and techniques which are specifically relevant to
the health sciences and to enable them to make reasoned
conclusions from the measures.
Subject description
This subject will include a descriptive study of the following:
(i) demographic disease measures including birth and death
rates, fertility rates, infant mortality rates;
(ii) rates and risks including prevalance wnus incidence,
point and period prevalene, cumulative incidence, persontime
rates, age-standardised rates and standardised mortality
rates;
(iii) measures of association including risk differences, risk
ratios, rate differences and rate ratios, odds ratios,
attributable risks, population attributable risks;
(iv) an introduction to epidemiological methods.
References
Armitage. P. and Berry, G. Statistical Methods in Medical Resea~h.
Oxford: Blackwell Scientific, 1987
Christie, D., Gordon., I. and Heller, R. Epidemiology - An
Introductory Text for Medical and Other Health Science Students
UNSW Press: Sydney, 1987
Daly, L.E.. Bourke, G.J. and McGilvray, 1. Interpretation and Uses of
Medical Statistics. 4th ed. Oxford: Blackwell Scientific, 1991
Hennekens, C.H. and Buring, J.E. Epidemiology in Medicine. Boston:
Little, Brown, 1987
Kirkwood, B.R. Essentials of Medical Statistics. Oxford: Blackwell
Scientific, 1988
Computer Packages
Epi Info V5 (1992)
Excel Version 4 (1992)
SPSSIPC + , Version 5.1 (1 991) andlor SPSS for Windows (1 992)
Demographic Techniques
12.5 credit points
No. of hours per week: four hours
Prerequisites: SM754
Instruction: class teaching and computer
laboratory sessions
Assessment: assignments and a test
Subject aims
SM755
This subject aims to understand the basic methods of
demographic analysis and to develop an awareness of the
social implications of demographic data.
Subject description
This unit will build on the work done in lntroduction to
Health Statistics.
Topics will indude sources of demographic data, further
work on rates and ratios, with examples from mortality,
fertility, marriage and migration. Census data and use of CD
ROM technology such as CDATA91. lntroduction to survival
analysis, life tables and life expectancy, and their use in
predictions such as population projections. Survival curves,
the log-rank test, proportional hazards model.
Much of the analysis will be done using a suitable
spreadsheet package such as Excel or Lotus 123.
References
Australian Bureau of Statistics. Social Indicators. Number 5, Canberra:
AGPS Catalogue No. 1101 .O, 1992
Hugo. G. Australia's Changing Population, Trends and Implicarions.
Melbourne: Oxford University Press. 1987
Lee, E.T. Statistical Methods for Data Analysis Blemont: Lifetime
Learning Publications, 1980
Maher, C. and Burke, T. Informed Dedsion Making. Cheshire
Longman, 1991
Pol, L.G. and Thomas, R.K. The Demography of Health and Health
Care. New York: Plenum Press, 1992
Pollard, A.H.. Yusuf, F. and Pollard, G.N. Demographic Techniques.
3rd ed, Sydney: Pergamon Press, 1990
Elementary Statistical Modelling
12.5 credit points
No. of hours per week: four hours
Prerequisites: SM751 and SM750
Instruction: class teaching and workshops
supplemented by audio-visual presentations and
laboratory sessions.
Assasment: practical and theoretical tests
Subject aims
SM756
This subject aims to extend the wrk done in lntroduction to
Data Analysis by further developing the concepts of
statistical estimation and testing.
Subject description
Analysis of variance and simple linear regression.
lntroduction to multiple regression. lntroduction to
experimental design and non-parametric methods.
Determination of sample size. Analysis of categorical data
and measures of association.
References
Altman, D.G. Statistics for Medical Researchers. London: Chapman
Hall, 1991
Blalock, H.M. Social Statistics: An Introduction. London: McGraw Hill.
1988
Howell, D.C. Fundamental Statistics for the Behviouml Sciences
Boston: Ouxbury, 1989
Moore, D.S. and McCabe, G.P. lnttvduction to the Practice of
Statistin. 2nd ed. New York: Freeman, 1993