This face to face course is run by the Researcher Academy as part of the Medicine and Health Sciences Faculty Training Programme.

The Researcher Academy courses are very popular and the majority are run in both semesters to give you the opportunity to attend at a time of the year that suits you. 

Target audience:
This course is open to postgraduate Research Students & Research Staff in Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (M&HS) only. The Schools of health Sciences, Life Sciences, Medicine and Veterinary Medicine and Sciences are in the Faculty of M&HS. 
If you are not based in the Faculty of M&HS but are undertaking heath-related research, please email mhsgc@nottingham.ac.uk to request a place. Places to non-faculty members will only be made available if demand from the Faculty allows.

Course pre-requisites

Participants will need to have a good understanding of odds ratio. 

Course Description: An introduction to study design including cross-sectional, case-control, and cohorts study designs. In addition to introduce as key epidemiological concepts of chance, bias and confounding. 

Aims: To understand the key features of epidemiological study design

Learning outcomes:

• Know that there are three alternative explanations to the truth for any study finding
• Understand the concept of sampling error and chance
• Understand the concept of bias in epidemiology
• Know some strategies to employ to minimise major types of bias
• Understand the concept of confounding in epidemiology
• Know some methods to deal with confounding and when these are appropriate to use
• To understand the three basic epidemiological study designs
  • Cross-sectional
  • Case-Control
  • Cohort Studies

Process: Class room based version. For the online version of this course visit here

Lecture/practical work in small groups.

If you do attend please bring a scientific calculator, that you know how to use, to the session.  A mobile phone calculator is not sufficient as it does not contain all of the necessary functions. Without a calculator you may not be able to participate in the session. 

Course Accessibility

The following table shows a summary of what is needed to participate in the course. 

If you feel you will experience any difficulties participating, please let us know via the ‘special requirements’ tab, providing as much information as possible. The special requirements tab can be completed when you book your place. Alternatively, you can contact us directly at ra-training@nottingham.ac.uk.

Print off pre-requisite paperwork/ resources & bring them to the course (optional)
Bring your own laptop/ PC to the course (optional)
Access seminar room on campus
Attend the course at the specified date and time
Watch and listen to the course tutor(s) and/or other attendees
Follow presentation slides during the course

Booking Conditions

Latecomer policy

Researchers should plan to arrive prior to the advertised course start time. Except for exceptional reasons, there will be no admittance to a Researcher Academy or Faculty Training Programme (FTP) course 15 minutes after the advertised course start time.

Importance of booking commitment

When booking on to a Researcher Academy short course you are entering into a commitment to attend. If you find that you are no longer available to attend you MUST cancel your place (on the system if more than three days before the course) or if at short notice by emailing ra-training@nottingham.ac.uk. This will ensure that your place can be offered to another researcher on the waiting list. Failure to cancel a place results in other researchers missing out on places through the waiting list process.

It is unacceptable for researchers to just not attend when booked onto a course. The Researcher Academy maintains records of those who repeatedly do not attend courses they have booked. This may affect future eligibility to book onto further Researcher Academy courses and will affect considerations for Researcher Academy funded opportunities.