The Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Facility (WTCRF) are running the following statistical and qualitative courses:
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Understanding the Basics of Randomised Controlled Trials
•03-Nov-14 (1000-1630) Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

An overview of how Randomised Control Trials (RCTs) have come to be regarded as the toughest test of an intervention in healthcare.  Using real life examples, the background, specific elements of RCTs and presentation of results will be explored.

Course Objectives:
-Why RCT are held up as the 'gold standard' in deciding how to prevent, treat or manage disease.
-Why even the best ones often run into problems.
-How to spot 'issues' in a publication reporting the results of a RCT.

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Cross-Over Trials in Clinical Research (2 Day Course)
•17 & 18 November 2014 (0930-1630): Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

Led by Professor Stephen Senn, this course is based on the book with the same name and is designed to provide the attendee with a basic grounding in the techniques used for analysing cross-over trials although, in fact, some of the course will cover design also. The course will be firmly practical with the emphasis on using cross-over trials to say something about the effects of treatments rather than as some sort of mathematical guinea pig. Controversies and issues will be covered as well as techniques. The analysis of examples using SAS? will also be illustrated. 

This is a more technical course and makes higher demands on the statistical knowledge of delegates.

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Statistics for the Terrified (An Introduction to Statistics)
•21-Jan-2015 (0930-1230)  Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

This half day workshop is directed at those with no, or only very limited knowledge of statistics who require a better understanding of how statistics can be used to describe and summarise data. 

Delivered by Dr David Chinn, Senior Research Advisor and R&D Coordinator, NHS Fife; Dr Chinn is not a statistician but an epidemiologist with a working knowledge of stats.

The level of presentation is very basic and examples will be used throughout to illustrate the procedures and concepts. 

Course Objectives:
- Describe different data types
- Describe measures of ‘location’ (also known as ‘central tendency’) and variability (spread) appropriate to the distribution of the data
- Describe the features of the Normal distribution and the t-distribution together with aspects of their application
- Understand the ‘standard deviation’
- Derive and interpret confidence intervals for continuous data and proportions.

Please note that this is a ‘stand-alone’ workshop, however you may also benefit from attending the workshop ‘Making sense of numbers’ which is scheduled to take place after this session (21st January 2015;1330-1630).
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Making Sense of Numbers (Interpretation of Data)
•21-Jan-2015 (1330-1630)  Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

This half day workshop is directed at those who need to interpret numbers but have little or no knowledge of statistics.

The content is appropriate for those who may need to critically appraise published (quantitative) articles. The focus is on interpreting rather than generating the results of a statistical analysis. Examples are used throughout.

Course Objectives:
- Distinguish between absolute and relative measures
- Describe and interpret a confidence interval
- Explain the distinction between confidence intervals and P-values
- Interpret the results of one-sample, unmatched and paired t-tests
- Understand the limitations of the t-test
- Make sense of data presented in graphical presentations
- Understand the concept of linear correlation
- Interpret the chi-square test for comparing proportions
- Interpret and make sense of the results from a randomised control trial.

This workshop will be delivered by Dr David Chinn, Senior Research Advisor and R&D Coordinator, NHS Fife; Dr Chinn is not a statistician but an epidemiologist with a working knowledge of stats.

Please note that this is a ‘stand-alone’ workshop, however you may also benefit from attending the workshop “Statistics for the Terrified” 
(An Introduction to Statistics), which is scheduled to take place in the morning before this session (21st January 2015; 0930-1230).
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An Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods (3 Day Course)
•11, 18, 25 February 2015 (0930-1630)  Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

A 3 day suite of interactive sessions covering:

- The ontological & epistemological underpinning of qualitative research and the main types of enquiry
- Data collection methods – comparing & contrasting
- Qualitative data analysis methods
- “Mixing” data collection methods
- Principles of coding and data analysis
- Safeguarding rigor in qualitative research
- Appraising published qualitative research

Wednesday 11th February, Wednesday 18th February and Wednesday 25th February 2015.
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Statistical Issues in Drug Development (2 day course)
•09 & 10 March 2015 (0930-1630)  Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

A Two Day Course 

Led by Stephen Senn, and based on his critically acclaimed “Statistical Issues in Drug Development”, this course is particularly suitable for life scientists who wish to deepen their appreciation of important statistical concepts and issues. It is also suitable for statisticians who wish to obtain a concise overview of controversies they may encounter.

The emphasis of the course will be on "why" rather than "how". Mathematical technicalities will be avoided but problems and issues will be frankly explored.

Suitable for: Research and Development Life Scientists; Clinicians; Clinical Trial and Project Managers; Clinical Research Associates; Statisticians; Health Economists; Clinical Data Processors, Managers and Quality Assurance; Administrators and Managers; Regulatory Affairs Personnel; Marketing Managers

Course Objectives:
- A basic understanding of statistical approaches to thinking about pharmaceutical clinical trials
- An understanding of the meaning of causality in clinical trials
- An understanding of the value of concurrent control
- An appreciation of the difference between Bayesian and frequentist approaches to analysing clinical trials
- The confidence and ability to discuss key issues in clinical trials with others in the field  (including from other disciplines)

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Meta-Analysis in Drug Development (2 day course)
•11 & 12 March 2015 (0930-1630)  Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

A Two Day Course 

Meta-analysis has now achieved more than a century of use and controversy:

From Karl Pearson's analysis in 1904 in the BMJ of inoculation for enteric fever to Juni et al's analysis in 2004 in the Lancet of risks of cardiovascular events in taking rofecoxib. 

In this two-day course Stephen Senn will prepare delegates for the second century of meta-analysis, covering the practicalities of carrying out such analyses, and using case studies where appropriate.

The course will be invaluable for all those involved in meta-analysis of pharmaceuticals, whether as consumer or producer, or working for sponsor, regulator, contract research organisation or academia.

Course Objectives:
- Have an understanding of the basic principle of weighting studies by inverse variance of the estimated treatment effect
- Have an understanding of the difference between fixed and random effects analysis
- Have an appreciation of the philosophical reasons for choosing a random effect rather than a fixed effect analysis and vice versa

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For further information and to book your place, please visit the WTCRF website www.crts.org.uk or contact us at [log in to unmask]
 

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