Curricular Unit:			Code:
Biostatistics			843BEST
Year:	Level:	Course:	Credits:
1	Master	Pharmaceutical Sciences	5 ects
Learning Period:		Language of Instruction:	Total Hours:
Spring Semester		Portuguese/English	65
Learning Outcomes of the Curricular Unit:
Biostatistics intends to introduce and to develop the knowledge about statistic analysis techniques, presenting pertinent examples and practical situations in order to demonstrate the concepts. It is also intended to develop in the student the critical and analytical spirit, concerning the obtained results, in order to establish the degree of confidence in them.
Syllabus:
Basic concepts. Descriptive statistics: type of variables, frequency distributions, measures of central tendency, partition, dispersion, asymmetry and kurtosis. Correlation and Linear regression. Random variables: discrete and continuous random variables, probability distribution function and cumulative distribution function for univariate discrete and continuous variables. Some important probability distributions for discrete and continuous variables. Confidence intervals: for the mean, for the variance, for the proportion, for RR and OR. Sample dimension calculation. Parametric and non-parametric hypothesis testing: approaches to hypothesis testing, type I and type II errors, most common tests.
Demonstration of the Syllabus Coherence with the Curricular Unit's Objectives:
Biostatistics is an instrument for scientific research about health. The selected program contents are those used in exploratory data analysis and of inference of any quantitative research, required to understand the results of research papers and to present their own results.
Teaching Methodologies (Including Evaluation):
Oral presentation and explanation of the programmatic contents, with the support of audiovisual media. Appeal to the active participation of the students, through an interrogative methodology. Exercise resolution and critical reading of articles. The minimum percentage of frequency in the theoretical-practical lessons of this subject is of 50%, according to UFP Pedagogical Regulation. Evaluation is periodic with two tests, each with an equal weight of 50%. The dates of the evaluation tests will be scheduled at the beginning of the semester. The lack of attendance to one or more evaluation tests implies the classification of zero for the purpose of calculation of the final classification and the non attribution of the ECTS, situation that implies the evaluation through an examination. Pupils who present a final classification inferior to 10 values in continuous evaluation are consider non-approved and do have to perform a final examination.
Demonstration of the Coherence between the Teaching Methodologies and the Learning Outcomes:
The teaching-learning methodologies of this curricular unit were programmed to enhance the concepts learned. Thus, in an initial phase, the oral explanation allows the approach and understanding of the programmatic contents. Classes focus on active and participative methods aiming to maintain students' attention and develop their critical capacity. The resolution of exercises leads to a greater motivation of the students in the application and consolidation of the acquired knowledge. The appeal to the critical sense of the students in the analysis of the results enhances their capacity to interconnect the knowledge and to properly interpret the obtained results. The critical reading of pappers, mainly the material and methods and the results sections, will allow to understand how to write about data analysis methods and how to see/read the results of those methods through statistical indicators obtained.
Reading:
[1] Daniel, WW; Cross, CL (2013) Biostatistics: A Foundation for Analysis in the Health Sciences, 10th ed., John Wiley and Sons. [2] Dawson, B; Trapp, RG (2004) Basic & Clinical Biostatistics, 4th ed., Lange Basic Science – McGraw-Hill. [Dawson, B; Trapp, RG (2003) Bioestatística Básica e Clínica, 3ª ed., McGraw-Hill.] [3] Schork, MA; Remington, RD (2000) Statistics with Applications to the Biological and Health Sciences, 3th ed., Prentice Hall. [4] Gouveia de Oliveira, A (2014) Bioestatística Descodificada – Bioestatística, Epidemiologia e Investigação, 2ª ed., LIDEL. [5] Loura, LCC; Martins, MEG (2012) Dossiê XIII - Estatística Descritiva com Excel – Complementos. ALEA - Instituto Nacional de Estatística. http://www.alea.pt/html/statofic/html/dossier/doc/dossie13a.pdf.