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3 Credits

Lecture/Lab:  Mondays 1:00 – 3:50 pm
Location:        Tompkins-McCaw Library Room 2-006 (TompCAT)
Instructor:      River Pugsley, MPH
                        Leigh House, Room 200
1000 East Clay Street
Cell: (540) 272-2759 (emergencies only please)
pugsleyra@vcu.edu  (preferred method of communication)

Office Hours: By appointment

MPH Program Mission Statement
The mission of the MPH Program at Virginia Commonwealth University is to promote health and well-being through commitment to public health education, excellence in research, and dedication to community service.

Course Overview/Description

This is a course for students/ professionals in public health, nurses and physicians who are interested in conducting population-based public health research. Complementary with EPID 571 and BIOS 543. This course will focus on principles and application issues related with data collection, sampling strategies, data management and data analysis based on various public health study designs. This course will also introduce students to the major statistical analysis programs: SAS. Using existing dataset, students will be able to form the research questions, manipulate the dataset, conduct the analysis, interpret and present results to address practical public health issues.

Course Objectives

After completing this course, students will be able to:

1. Understand and apply the principles of good data management.
2. Address quality control issues related to existing datasets.
3. Identify and apply appropriate data collection strategies and quality controls.
4. Transform existing datasets so they can be used in various applications (i.e. MS Excel, Access, SAS).
5. Present data and research findings efficiently in tabular and graphical formats using MS Excel.
6. Create and manage databases using MS Access and SAS.
7. Perform and interpret the results of descriptive and limited inferential statistical analysis using SAS.

Course Content and Format

This course will consist of a combination of lectures, demonstrations, class discussions, and in-class “hands-on” exercises.  Students are expected to attend the lectures and take part in the class activities.  In general, classes will consist of two segments: a lecture segment and a hands-on lab applications segment.  These will be separated by a 10-minute break.

Text and Materials

No textbooks are required for this course.  However, reading assignments may be handed out in class or provided to students via the course’s Blackboard website.

While no textbook is required, the following book is strongly recommended.  It is a very useful guide to basic SAS coding, and will provide a good reference both for this class and for future applications.

The Little SAS Book: A Primer, Third Edition by Lora D. Delwiche and Susan J. Slaughter, ISBN: 1-59047-333-7

In addition to MS Word, Excel, and Access, students should have access to SAS Version 9.1.3 software.  This software is available for free download from the VCU Technology Services website (http://www.ts.vcu.edu/faq/stats/sas_soft.html).  Access to SAS Online Tutor is also required for this class, and this software can be either downloaded or accessed via the internet (http://www.ts.vcu.edu/faq/stats/tutor.html).

Course Evaluation and Grading Policy

Grades will be assigned based on student performance on homework assignments, two exams, and class participation. 

Homework Assignments – 50%

Homework assignments will be given at the end of most class sessions.  Students will have one week to complete the assignments.  Exercises will consist of problem sets or computer application homework, so access to a computer with the necessary software (Microsoft Excel, Access, SAS, etc.) is required.  It is possible that limited lab time may be made available at the end of some class sessions for students to work on homework assignments.  All homework assignments will carry equal weight.  Students are encouraged to work together on all homework assignments to aid learning, but each student is expected to submit their own work.

Examinations – 40%

Two examinations will be given during the course, each with a weight of 20%.  The examinations will be cumulative in nature, and will be similar in structure and format to the homework exercises.  Examinations will be take-home and open-book, but must be completed without any collaboration. 

Class Participation – 10%

Students are expected to attend every class session and actively participate.  If for some reason a student cannot attend a class session, that student must notify the instructor prior to the class (except in case of emergencies).  Failure to notify the instructor will result in a deduction from the participation grade.

      Grading Scale

Letter grades and associated points are awarded in this course as follows and will appear on the student’s official transcript.  Please note that grades will not be rounded up in borderline cases.

            A         90 – 100 percent
            B          80 – 89 percent
            C         70 – 79 percent
            D         60 – 69 percent
            F          less than 60 percent

Note that the last day to withdraw from the class with a grade of W is November 2, 2007.

Late Assignments

Late assignments will be penalized 5% per day.  Exceptions may be made for extenuating circumstances.

Scholastic Dishonesty and Plagiarism

Students are responsible for knowing the Virginia Commonwealth University policy on student conduct and scholastic dishonesty.  All students are expected to conduct themselves in accordance with the VCU Honor Code, the full test of which can be found at:
http://www.students.vcu.edu/rg/policies/honor.html
In brief, appropriate conduct includes, but is not limited to:

1. refraining from committing any act of cheating, plagiarizing, facilitating academic dishonesty, abusing academic materials, stealing, lying, or soliciting others to engage in any of the above;
2. refraining from acts of intimidation, threats of physical harm, or threats of retribution in any attempt to prevent the testimony of another member of the University Community at any time after changes have been made; and
3. reporting every instance in which there is suspicion or knowledge that academic conduct, which violates this policy or its spirit, has taken place to the faculty member responsible for instruction, or to a member of the MCV Honor Council.

In addition, original work is expected in this course.  It is unacceptable to hand in assignments for this course for which you receive credit in another course unless by prior agreement with the instructor.  Building on a line of work begun in another course or leading to a thesis, dissertation, or final project is acceptable.  If you have any questions, consult the instructor.

   Americans with Disabilities Act

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 requires Virginia Commonwealth University to provide a "reasonable accommodation" to any individual who advises us of a physical or mental disability. If you have a physical or mental limitation that requires an accommodation or an academic adjustment, please go to the Americans with Disabilities web site: http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/adahom1.htm

Sexual Harassment

University policy strictly prohibits sexual harassment against any member of the University community.  Acts of either verbal or physical sexual harassment will not be tolerated and will subject the person who commits such acts to disciplinary action under these guidelines and, possibly, other University policies and procedures.  In addition, such acts could subject the violator to sanctions under federal and state laws and policies, including Title VII and IX of the federal civil rights laws.  Specific sexual harassment policy information can be found at: http://www.students.vcu.edu/rg/policies/sexualharassment.htm

What to Know and Do To Be Prepared for Emergencies at VCU

1. Sign up to receive VCU text messaging alerts (http://www.vcu.edu/alert/notify).  Keep your information up-to-date.
2. Know the safe evacuation route from each of your classrooms.  Emergency evacuation routes are posted in on-campus classrooms.
3. Listen for and follow instructions from VCU or other designated authorities.
4. Know where to go for additional emergency information (http://www.vcu.edu/alert).
5. Know the emergency phone number for the VCU Police (828-1234).  Report suspicious activities and objects.

Tentative Class Schedule and Lecture Topics

Week	Date	Topic	Assignment
1	August 27	Introduction / Data Types	Homework Assignment #1
2	September 3	Data Collection and Data Sources	Homework Assignment #2
3	September 10	MS Excel Part 1 – Cleaning Existing Data and Creating New Data	Homework Assignment #3
4	September 17	Survey Data – Guest Lecturer Dr. Turf
5	September 24	MS Excel Part 2 – Summarizing and Presenting Data	Homework Assignment #4
6	October 1	MS Access	Homework Assignment #5
7	October 8	Introduction to SAS - Opening Datasets	Homework Assignment #6
8	October 15	SAS Part 2 – Descriptive Output and Data Cleaning	Mid-Term Exam
9	October 22	Guest Lecture - TBA	Mid-Term Due by 5:00 pm
10	October 29	SAS Part 3 – Recoding Variables and Creating New Data	Homework Assignment #7
11	November 5	SAS Part 4 – Basic Data Analysis	Homework Assignment #8
12	November 12	SAS Part 5 – Data Analysis Cont.	Homework Assignment #9
13	November 19	Analyzing Data Part 1 – Putting it all together (using MS Excel, SAS, etc)	Enjoy Thanksgiving Holiday!
14	November 26	Analyzing Data Part 2 – Putting it all together (using MS Excel, SAS, etc)	Homework Assignment #10
15	December 3	TBA	Final Exam
16	December 10	Exam Week	Final Exam Due by 5:00 pm

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