Case StudiesM.Sc. in Applied Statistics

Dr. Órlaith BurkeMichaelmas Term 2012

Statistical MethodsM.Sc. in Applied Statistics

Hard work = Stay engagedResponsibility = Ownership

Read = Read

Case Studieso Logisticso Aims of the courseo Taskso Structure of the Lectureso Presentation typeso Feedback o Personal Reflectiono Groups: Allocation, tasks and group work

Logistics

10 am Friday morning Lecture Room in SPR1Week 1-8 MT

Lecture Room also available 9.30-10am on Friday mornings for

presenting groups to SET UP and practise before the session that day.

Please note that lectures will start promptly at 10am!

Material available on WebLearn

Online Material

Aims of the courseTasks

Structure of the lecturePresentation hints and tips

FeedbackGroups

Online Material

Aims of the courseTasks

Structure of the lecturePresentation hints and tips

FeedbackGroups

Aims of the Course

The aims of the Case Studies module are:

• to broaden participants’ exposure to practical aspects of statistics;

• to develop in participants a critical awareness of how statistical

ideas and techniques are used in practice;

(See ‘Scientific Thinking’ excerpt on class page)

• to improve the participants’ skill in formulating and delivering a

presentation on a statistical topic; and

• to encourage the development of participants’ group work skills.

Aims of the CourseWhy?

The aims of the Case Studies module are:

• SO THAT YOU BECOME WELL-ROUNDED STATISTICIANS

• DEVELOPMENT OF CRITICAL THINKING AND PRACTICALITIES OF

STATISTICS IN THE REAL WORLD

• DIRECTLY TRANSFERABLE SKILLS

• DIRECTLY TRANSFERABLE SKILLS

AND

PRACTICE FOR WEEK-LONG ASSESSED GROUP PRACTICAL

Online Material

Aims of the courseTasks

Structure of the lecturePresentation hints and tips

FeedbackGroups

TasksEach student will:

• study 1 case, for main presentation, in randomly allocated groups of 4-5;

• be assigned to speak for part of one presentation (at least);

• study 1 case, for debate-style presentation, in randomly allocated groups of 2-3;

• study 1 case, for question rounds, in randomly allocated groups of 2-3;

• produce a short Personal Reflection for each group work task.

Please note that finding papers in the Oxford library system is part of the task.

Online Material

Aims of the courseTasks

Structure of the lecturePresentation hints and tips

FeedbackGroups

Structure of Lectures

The lectures for this course will be as follows:

– Seminar-style presentation of main case study– followed by ‘quick-fire’ questions– followed by active discussion from the audience

– Debate-style presentation of second case study– followed by active discussion from the audience

Structure of Lectures

The lectures for this course will be timed as follows:

– Seminar-style presentation of main case study 15 minutes– followed by ‘quick-fire’ questions 10 minutes– followed by active discussion from the audience ~10 minutes

– Debate-style presentation of second case study 5 minutes each– followed by active discussion from the audience ~5 minutes

Online Material

Aims of the courseTasks

Structure of the lecturePresentation hints and tips

FeedbackGroups

Seminar-Style Presentations

• Every member of the group should contribute significantly (but not necessarily equally) to the presentation.

• You are not expected to analyse the data yourselves, and

please do not discuss the theory - this should be a study of examples.

Seminar-Style PresentationsA good presentation will:• clearly and efficiently communicate the context, aims, methods

and findings of the reported analysis;

• deliver a clear, fair and accurate critique of the reported analysis;

• suggest alternative analyses or ideas for improvement if appropriate; and

• deal appropriately and constructively with questions and feedback from the audience.

See ‘Presentation hints’ on the class page

Seminar-Style Presentations• Remember that the audience will not have seen the report.

• Common mistake: Groups do not clearly introduce the problem or describe the context of the analysis. This makes the rest of the presentation almost impossible to follow.

• Technology:You can make use of the computer projector but do prepare in advance, e.g. have the file on your desktop, and log on to the computer before the talk (it takes much longer to log-in the first time you use it!).

Debate-Style Presentations

• Each debate group will present the positive OR negative aspects (as assigned) of the case study

• These are 5 minute short key point presentations

• Every member of the group should contribute significantly (but not necessarily equally) to the presentation.

Quick-Fire Question Rounds

• Lead by the ‘quick-fire’ question group after the presentation.

• ‘Quick-fire’ question group members will– be familiar with the case study– focus on positive OR negative aspects of the study (as assigned) – have a few short (but interesting) questions for the main

presentation group.

• The idea is not to try to catch the presentation group out but to encourage active discussion of the case study.

• ‘Quick-fire’ question rounds will develop into the general questions and discussion with the rest of the audience.

Online Material

Aims of the courseTasks

Structure of the lecturePresentation hints and tips

FeedbackGroups

Feedback

• At the end of the lecture (as you leave)• Post-it anonymous feedback 

All students will have an opportunity to receive individual feedback on their presentation.

General feedback also given to each group after the session (e.g. statistical key points and feedback on presentation/team work)

Feedback

 Feedback is valuable – It helps you to assess your performance, and to improve.

However, please keep the following in mind:• Feedback should be positive or constructive, but never

negative.• Feedback should not be personal - you are communicating

your perception of the presentation, not making a value judgement about an individual.

• Please consult feedback notes online before the first session

Online Material

Aims of the courseTasks

Structure of the lecturePresentation hints and tips

FeedbackGroups

GroupsGroupwork • Each individual will bring a different set of skills and background

knowledge to the group.

• You will therefore get the most out of the exercise if you work together to prepare the presentation.

• Make sure every meeting has a focus, and that each individual is given the chance to contribute their ideas and skills.

• You may find it useful at first to assign someone the role of chairman, in order to make sure that the discussion stays on track.

Remember this is all practice for the Assessed Group Practical

GroupsAllocation

Students will be assigned to randomly allocated groups for

• Main case study Seminar-Style presentation – Groups of 4-5• Second case study Debate-Style presentation – Groups of 3-4• Quick-fire Question Groups for Main case study – Groups of 3-4

• The references for case studies to be discussed will be available one week before each session

Groups

Tasks

Each main presentation group will:• formulate and deliver a 15 min presentation on a particular

case;• be prepared for ‘quick-fire’ questions and general questions

from the audience; and• produce a team plan – to be submitted no later than 24 hours

before presentation. 

Groups

Tasks

Each debate presentation group will:• formulate and deliver a 5 min presentation on a particular case;• be prepared to defend their comments; and• produce a team plan – to be submitted no later than 24 hours

before presentation. 

Groups

Tasks

Each ‘quick-fire’ question group will:• briefly review the case to be presented; and• prepare 1-2 interesting questions for discussion with the

presentation group.

Online Material

Aims of the courseTasks

Structure of the lecturePresentation hints and tips

FeedbackGroups

Team Plan and Personal Reflection

Team Plan & Personal Reflection

Each presentation group will submit a TEAM PLAN no less than 24 hours before the presentation (i.e. By 10am Thursday)

The TEAM PLAN will outline the individual roles of each student in the groupe.g. presenter, slide writer ...

Team Plan & Personal Reflection

Each student will produce a short Personal Reflection for each group work task in which they are involved

To be submitted by 10am Monday morning

By Week 8 each student should have three Personal Reflections

A Personal Reflection should be • an individual piece of writing • no more than a single page • a brief description of your own experience of a particular

groupwork task• Prompts available on Class Page