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Unit of study_

PUBH5218: Advanced Statistical Modelling

2025 unit information

All models are wrong, but some are useful. In this unit, your statistical toolkit will be expanded to include modern techniques for tackling challenges that often exist in health research data, such as missing observations, non-linear effects, and confounding and correlation between observations. The methods for correlated data are relevant for analysing some epidemiological observational study designs (e.g., matched case-control studies, longitudinal studies with repeated measurements), and clinical trial designs (e.g. cluster RCTs, cross-over RCTs). Techniques to help assess the usefulness of a model will also be covered. Topics covered include fractional polynomials for non-linear effects; mixed or random effects and marginal models (e.g. GEE) for correlated data; multiple imputation for missing data; propensity score for confounding; and tools to assess model performance and classification.The focus of this unit is on the application of statistical methods using the statistical software package R.

Unit details and rules

Managing faculty or University school:

Medicine and Health

Study level Postgraduate
Academic unit Public Health
Credit points 6
Prerequisites:
? 
PUBH5217
Corequisites:
? 
None
Prohibitions:
? 
CEPI5310
Assumed knowledge:
? 
None

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

  • LO1. Develop statistical analyses in R and choose appropriate functions and packages
  • LO2. Fit and interpret regression models with non-linear effects
  • LO3. Appropriately analyse data which have missing values
  • LO4. Understand the principles of resampling methods and identify situations where these methods are useful
  • LO5. Build prediction models and assess model performance
  • LO6. Implement propensity score methods for confounding adjustment
  • LO7. Fit and interpret models for correlated data
  • LO8. Identify appropriate advanced statistical techniques for a given analysis task

Unit availability

This section lists the session, attendance modes and locations the unit is available in. There is a unit outline for each of the unit availabilities, which gives you information about the unit including assessment details and a schedule of weekly activities.

The outline is published 2 weeks before the first day of teaching. You can look at previous outlines for a guide to the details of a unit.

Session MoA ?  Location Outline ? 
Semester 1 2024
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 1 2024
Online Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Session MoA ?  Location Outline ? 
Semester 1 2025
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Outline unavailable
Semester 1 2025
Online Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Outline unavailable
Session MoA ?  Location Outline ? 
Semester 1 2020
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 1 2020
Online Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 1 2021
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 1 2021
Normal day Remote
Semester 1 2021
Online Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 1 2022
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 1 2022
Normal day Remote
Semester 1 2022
Online Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 1 2023
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 1 2023
Normal day Remote
Semester 1 2023
Online Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

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Modes of attendance (MoA)

This refers to the Mode of attendance (MoA) for the unit as it appears when you’re selecting your units in Sydney Student. Find more information about modes of attendance on our website.