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Instructor: Dr. Nathan Taback

Emai l : nathan.taback@utoronto.ca

Office: SS 6007

Telephone: 416.946.7591

Office hours: after Mondays class unti l 1300.

Teaching Assistants: Alexander Str inger, Qiqi Wang, Dechang Gao,

Zhenhua Lin

Course webpage: Can be accessed through the learning portal

Classroom sessions:

Mon 11:00-12:00 in SS2118

Wed 11:00-13:00 in FG103

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This course wil l provide an introduction to the fundamental concepts of

the design of scienti f ic studies including the design of experiments and

observational . Students wi l l be become acquainted with stat ist ical methods

used to design and analyze experiments and observational studies. In

part icular this course wil l cover: experiments versus observational studies,

cl in ical tr ia l design, group sequential methods, comparing several groups

using a completely randomized design, randomized blocks , Latin squares,

incomplete block designs, factorial designs, caus al inference in randomized

and non-randomized studies, and adjust ing for selection bias us ing

propensity score methods.

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Understand the ideas, pr inciples, and consideratio ns that are

common to the design and analysis of scienti f ic studies including the

stat ist ical design of experiments and observational studies.

Develop a stat ist ical toolbox of methods for the design and analysis

of experiments and observational studies.

Identi fy appropriate uses and interpretat ions of experimental designs,

and observational studies, including their strengths and l imitat ions.

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Experiments versus observational studies, and causal inference in

randomized experiments.

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Design of Observational Studies. Rosenbaum, P. R. Springer 20 10.

UofT l ink to electronic copy: http://go.utl ib.ca/cat/7890274

Experiments: planning, analysis, and optimization. Wu, C.F. J . , Hamada, M.S.

Wiley, 2009, 2

nd

ed. : http://go.utl ib.ca/cat/8598479

NB: Both optional textbooks are avai lable electronical ly through the UofT

l ibrary ( i .e . , e lectronic copies of both these textbooks are avai lable at no

extra cost)

73-,#-)."(Weight

Date Time

Four hand-in

assignments

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Jan. 21, Feb. 11,

March 18, Apri l 1

Due at 11:10 in

class(*)

Term test 35% Feb. 23 11:10-12:40

Final exam 45% Scheduled by Faculty(*) See assignment due date and time below for course rules regarding late assignments.

G%%./(9&() B#& B-)& -(; *.9&" Assignments are always due at the beginning of class on the due date

and a paper copy must be handed in at the beginning of class.

"An assignment is considered late i f the lecture has begun. An

announcement wil l be made regarding the end of the t ime where

assignments wi l l be accepted.

"Assignments handed in after this announcement wil l be considered

late and wil l receive a grade of zero.

" Late assignments wi l l receive a grade of zero except for documented

reasons beyond the students control . In the case of a medical

reason this must be documented using the UofT Student I l lness or

injury form.

" Electronic submission (e.g. , emai l) of assignments wi l l NOT be

accepted. I f an assignment is submitted by emai l then it wi l l NOT be

marked and a grade of zero wil l be assigned.

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The test wi l l be written during class t ime but in a location to be

announced.

You are al lowed a two-sided 8-1/2 x 11 (standard letter size) hand-written

aid sheet on the term test and a two-sided hand-written aid sheet on the

final exam. You must bring your student identi f icat ion to the term test and

the f inal exam.

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You wil l not need to know R syntax on the tests and exam, but you wil l

need to know how to interpret output from R.

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Any requests to have marked work re-evaluated must be made in writ ing

within one day of the date the work was returned to the class. The request

must contain a just i f icat ion for consideration.

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I f a test is missed for a val id reas on, you must submit documentationto the course instructor.

If a test is missed for a valid medical reason, you must submit the University ofToronto Verification of Student Illness or Injury formto your instructor within oneweek of the test.

The form will only be accepted as valid if the form is filled out according to theinstructions on the form.

The form must indicate that the degree of incapacitat ion

on academic funct ioning is moderate, ser ious, or severe in

order to be considered a val id medical reason for miss ing

the term test . I f the form indicates that the degree of

incapacitat ion on academic funct ioning is negl ig ib le or mild

then th is wi l l NOT be considered a val id medical reason.

If a test is missed for a valid reason then the test weight will be shifted to the finalexam. This means that your final exam will be worth 80% of your final grade.Otherwise, a student missing a term test will receive a grade of zero.

Other reasons for missing a test will require prior approval by your instructor. Ifprior approval is not received for non-medical reasons then you will receive a term

test grade of zero.

!"96#).(/We wil l use R for al l examples. R is freely avai lable for download at

http://cran.r-project .org for Windows, Mac, and Linux operating systems.

For the test and exam, you wil l need to know how to interpret output from

R. We wil l support the use of R to complete the assignments. I f you wish

to use other stat ist ical software such as SAS or SPSS to complete the

assignments you may do so, but we wil l not be providing sample code f or

you to complete the assignments in other languages.

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I recommend using R Studio as an integrated development environment to

R. I t is freely avai lable at

http://www.rstudio.com/products/rstudio/download/

I f you wish to use R at UofT then you wil l need to sign up for a CQUEST

account. To get an account and f ind out more information about using

CQUEST go to http://www.cquest .utoronto.ca

I am assuming that students have never used R before. I wi l l provide you

with the R syntax for al l examples in lecture, which should be suff ic ient for

you to do your assignments.

!-,2#,-)"$%You wil l need a calculator. Any calculator that has logarithmic functions wi l l

be suff ic ient. Calculators on phones or other devices equipped to

communicate with the outside world (for example, through the internet or

cel lular or satel l i te phone networks) wi l l not be permitted during the term

test and the f inal exam.

?.-II-This term we wil l be using Piazza for class dis cussion. The system is highly

catered to gett ing you help fast and eff ic iently from classmates , the TA, and

the lecturers. Rather than emai l ing questions to the teaching staff , we

encourage you to post your questions on Piazza. To sig n up for the

discussion forum cl ick on the l ink :https://piazza.com/utoronto.ca/winter2015/sta305h

G;;.)."(-, +&,6Need extra help with the coursework? Here are some options:

"For continued class discussion and questions outside of class, try

posting on the discussion forums. The instructor and TAs wil l be

monitoring them regular ly.

"You can visit your instructor or the teaching assistants during their

off ice hours.

"There is a drop-in Stat ist ics Aid Centre in New College: Wetmore

Hal l 68A. See http://www.utstat .toronto.edu/wordpress/?page id=154

for the schedule.

E-mai l should only be used for emergencies or personal matters.

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J"K )" 2"99#(.2-)& K.)+ @"#$ .(%)$#2)"$Questions about course material such as:

How do I do question 3.7 in the textbook?

What is standard deviat ion?

When is the midterm?

Can be posted on the discussion forums. Questions c an be posted

anonymously (so that the author is anonymous to other students but not to

the instructors) , i f desired.

For private communication, such as: I missed the test because I was i l l e-

mai l your instructor.

Use your utoronto.ca e-mai l account to ensure that your message doesn't

automatical ly go to a Junk folder and include your ful l name and student

number.

G2-;&9.2 .()&/$.)@You are responsible for knowing the content of the University of Toronto's

Code of Behaviour on Academic Matters at

http://www.governingcounci l .utoronto.ca/pol icies/behaveac.htm . I f you

have any questions about what is or is not permitted in this course, please

do not hesitate to contact your instructor.

G22&%%.0.,.)@ (&&;%The University of Toronto is committed to accessib i l i ty . I f you require

accommodations for a disabi l i ty , or have any access ibi l i ty concerns about

the course, the classroom, or course materials, please contact Access ibi l i ty

Services as soon as possible: accessibi l i ty .services@utoronto.ca or

http://accessibi l i ty .utoronto.ca .

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The classroom sessions for this c lass is designed to actively engage you in

the course material . We hope you' l l f ind them interest ing, chal lenging, and

fun, and an excel lent opportunity to truly learn the material . In order for

these sessions to be effective, coming prepared, by learning about the

week's concepts through the textbook, is essential .