Hypothesis Testing, P-Values, and Inference – When Thinking Like a Statistician Makes Sense

This webinar will present the reasoning that formulates null hypotheses and turns researchers’ hair gray. You will learn the why and how of the scientific method, and how to view the world with a statistician’s eyes. 

Do you become tongue tied when explaining the meaning of a p-value? Would you like to know why the null hypothesis is so important to research? Why don’t statistics prove anything? Are you “pretty sure” about what you want to say in plain English, but you’re not sure how to say it statistically?

Explore the possibilities and limitations of research questions and hypothesis development.

P-values are not enough! Learn how to interpret statistical findings with p-values, effect sizes, and confidence intervals.

Why You Should Attend:

This course will give you clarity on the processes of developing testable hypotheses, and interpretation of study findings, not only with p-values, but also by making use of effect sizes and confidence intervals.

This webinar will briefly review the history of scientific method. We will explore the steps involved in developing a research question that can be tested with statistical hypotheses. Examples of research questions and hypotheses that can and cannot be tested will be presented. A brief lesson in statistical theory will explain why we don’t prove anything in research, we can only make really, really, good guesses…providing we look at the problem the right way. We will also discuss three ways of interpretation that in combination can be used for better decision making, namely, p-values, effect sizes, and confidence intervals.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of the webinar, participants will have a more thorough understanding of using the tenants and tools of scientific method to align their studies to obtain valid and reliable results. Key learning objectives include:

• Understanding Scientific Method
• Knowing when statistics are useful, and when they are not
• Designing research questions and statistical hypotheses
• Understanding p-values, confidence intervals, effect sizes
• Taking a holistic approach to research
• References for further research will be provided

Areas Covered in the Session :

• Brief history of the scientific method
• Examples of when scientific methods is useful, and when it is not are not.
• 5 steps for hypothesis testing:
  1. Formulation of research questions and statistical hypotheses to explain and/or test phenomena.
  2. Specify the statistical hypotheses
  3. Choice of an appropriate test-statistic
  4. Compute probability and determine if results are significant
  5. Properly state conclusions and make inferences based on the test results
• Why p-values are not enough. A review of effect sized and confidence intervals.
• Suggestions for the best tests to use to address specific types research, and how to structure the study research questions accordingly:
  1. Tests of mean differences
  2. Tests of correlation/association

Who Should Attend:

• Device manufacturers
• Researchers
• Principal Investigators
• Coordinators
• Industry Sponsors
• IRB members

Course Director: Elaine Eisenbeisz

Elaine Eisenbeisz is a private practice statistician and owner of Omega Statistics, a statistical consulting firm based in Southern California. Elaine has over 30 years of experience in creating data and information solutions for industries ranging from governmental agencies and corporations, to start-up companies and individual researchers. Elaine’s love of numbers began in elementary school where she placed in regional and statewide mathematics competitions. She attended University of California, Riverside, as a National Science Foundation scholar, where she earned a B.S. in Statistics with a minor in Quantitative Management, Accounting. Elaine received her Master’s Certification in Applied Statistcs from Texas A&M, and is currently finishing her graduate studies at Rochester Institute of Technology.

Elaine is a member in good standing with the American Statistical Association as well as many other professional organizations. She is also a member of the Mensa High IQ Society. Omega Statistics holds an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.

Elaine has designed the methodology for numerous studies in the clinical, biotech, and health care fields. She currently is an investigator on approximately 10 proton therapy clinical trials for Proton Collaborative Group, based in Illinois. She also designs and analyzes studies as a contract statistician for nutriceutical and fitness studies with QPS, a CRO based in Delaware. Elaine has also worked as a contract statistician with numerous private researchers and biotech start-ups as well as with larger companies such as Allergan and Rio Tinto Minerals. Not only is Elaine well versed in statistical methodology and analysis, she works well with project teams. Throughout her tenure as a private practice statistician, she has published work with researchers and colleagues in peer-reviewed journals. Please visit the Omega Statistics website at www.OmegaStatistics.com to learn more about Elaine and Omega Statistics.