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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Understanding Clinical Research: Behind the Statistics by University of Cape Town

4.8
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3,310 ratings

About the Course

If you’ve ever skipped over the results section of a medical paper because terms like “confidence interval” or “p-value” go over your head, then you’re in the right place. You may be a clinical practitioner reading research articles to keep up-to-date with developments in your field or a medical student wondering how to approach your own research. Greater confidence in understanding statistical analysis and the results can benefit both working professionals and those undertaking research themselves. If you are simply interested in properly understanding the published literature or if you are embarking on conducting your own research, this course is your first step. It offers an easy entry into interpreting common statistical concepts without getting into nitty-gritty mathematical formulae. To be able to interpret and understand these concepts is the best way to start your journey into the world of clinical literature. That’s where this course comes in - so let’s get started! The course is free to enroll and take. You will be offered the option of purchasing a certificate of completion which you become eligible for, if you successfully complete the course requirements. This can be an excellent way of staying motivated! Financial Aid is also available....

Top reviews

AM

Dec 15, 2018

Klopper MD is a great teacher. There are other courses from another top universities about this topic, but I think this is my favourite. This the shortest in duration and most comprehensive among all.

MA

Jul 30, 2023

One of best teacher i have seen in my entire life. course is well designed and explained. Force me to learn alot especially through finding research papers and finding concepts in them. love you sir.

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26 - 50 of 994 Reviews for Understanding Clinical Research: Behind the Statistics

By Sean K

Feb 28, 2019

I very much enjoyed Dr Kloppers course. He manages to teach a wide range of statistical theory within a clinical framework – which is where the value added was as far as I am concerned as I am not a clinician, but I do need to know my way around reports and assessments etc. Further, if the course leaves you wanting more (and it should) look at Dr Klopper’s YouTube page – the content is superb.

By Armida S

Mar 27, 2020

This is an excellent course for resident doctors and clinicians who wish to review the basics of statistics in medical research. The examples and case studies given are very helpful in understanding the application of the different statistical tests that were mentioned throughout the course. Thank you very much for the wonderful lectures, Dr Klopper!

By Mudasir a

Jul 31, 2023

One of best teacher i have seen in my entire life. course is well designed and explained. Force me to learn alot especially through finding research papers and finding concepts in them. love you sir.

By Kabakov B

Feb 2, 2020

Nice introduction into medical statistics for non statisticians or physicians. Lector has hard accent, but all necessary info is doubled in text (why course contains video then?). And peer reviewed task is a pain in the ass. Why it became so popular?

By Luis F H S

Jan 28, 2016

The course covers very useful and interesting topics, not in very much detail though. It is useful to begin with the topics, but it is really not more that a thin introduction.

By Elviro J C

Jan 25, 2024

Understanding Clinical Research: Behind the Statistics é simplesmente notável! Este curso oferece uma perspectiva única sobre o mundo da pesquisa clínica, desvendando os complexos conceitos estatísticos de uma maneira que é não apenas acessível, mas genuinamente intrigante. A abordagem prática e envolvente adotada neste curso não apenas mantém minha atenção, mas também me faz perceber a importância vital da pesquisa clínica. A maneira como os conceitos estatísticos são desmistificados e conectados à realidade prática torna o aprendizado não apenas educativo, mas também emocionante, o curso, com sua combinação de vídeos instrutivos, estudos de caso envolventes e exercícios práticos, proporciona uma experiência de aprendizado holística. A plataforma online do curso também merece elogios. Sua interface intuitiva facilita a navegação e o acesso ao conteúdo, algo essencial para uma geração que valoriza a facilidade de uso em ambientes digitais.

By Rebecca M

Nov 6, 2022

This was a great introductory course to the statistics behind clinical research. Interpreting data in research can be difficult if not familiar with the statistics used and I feel this course lends much understanding in that direction. The best part is that you never feel like you're lost in the world of mathematics as the instructor, Dr Klopper, constantly brings in real world examples from the field of healthcare. The topics are broken down into small, understandable modules with extra reading material if necessary. The assignments, especially the ones involving reading sections of a paper and applying the concepts learnt, are fun to do and interesting! Would definitely recommend the course for any beginner at statistics looking to understand and interpret data better.

By Omar H

Dec 16, 2020

A very detailed yet basic and easy to understand discussion and teaching on research methodology and the statistics behind it. The testing materials and methods used to assess the candidates at the end of each week are very engaging and thought provoking. Dr Juan Klopper and his team at the University of Cape Town have done a tremendous job in compiling this fantastic series of videos and text which is a must to go through for any one who is new to medical research, who want's to know how to read a medical journal article, how statistics are done in a research paper and what does all those complex terminologies mean. This course is also useful for those who wish to strengthen their exam skills and are aiming Critical Appraisal Examination. Highly recommended course!

By Heba A

Dec 28, 2022

I thought the course was wonderful. Everything was explained clearly and precisely. I really appreciate how the course encouraged us to actively think and analyse (it taught us how to think as opposed to just telling us how to think). The only criticism I have is that I felt the non-parameter tests could have been explained more thoroughly (because it felt a bit rushed compared to the rest of the course). Other than that, I really think the course is excellent and well-constructed. I was taught clinical research in the med school I attended and I genuinely never understood research even half as well as I did after finishing this course. I would recommend it to people entirely new to the subject and even those who weren't taught that well during university.

By Beatriz

May 22, 2018

Very clear and direct to the point explanations on how to design a trial, hypothesis contrast and the use of different statistical tests depending on the variables (numerical parametric and non parametric and for categorical variables) and their interpretation. The course also included several "warnings" for the correct interpretation of the study results (for instance, the importance of publishing the raw data of the trials, to set the study hypothesis and statistics from the very beginning and before data collection and analysis, to interpret the PPV considering the prevalence in the sample before extrapolating the result to the population…)

By Damion B

Jun 7, 2020

This course will help individual understand the basics of statistics. This is ideal for an individual who is about to write "board exams." Many of the terms explained will be met in your exams. These terms were excellently explored and a thorough understanding was acquired. The lecturer and his team structured the course in a way that knowledge was attained from basics to more complex terms. These terms were then explained starting from the primary components. Very easy to follow and a pleasure to be a participant. I encourage many of my colleagues, even those young researchers to be enrolled. Thank you and may you have a great experience.

By Rodrigo G M

Oct 13, 2019

Un excelente curso de inicio a la metodologia de la investigacion, donde necesitas pocas horas efectivas y la retencion es excelente una vez que inicias diariamente o por un periodo constante de tiempo, el esfuerzo es minimo y el entendimiento, reitero, es excelente, no va mas alla ni tiene la profundidad de un curso avanzado, sin embargo, estudiantes de medicina o recien iniciados en ciencias de la investigacion son bienvenidos en un curso de excelente talla, para los mas avanzados, les ayudara para quitar algunas dudas que hayan tenido desde la facultad. nunca es tarde para revisar este rapido, divertido, y util curso.

By Rob v M

May 11, 2021

The strength of the course, is the addition of a summary or key note after nearly every video, this gave me the peace and reassurance that I did not miss the essence of the lecture. I also liked the experience to go trough several articles recently published in the literature and exchange the interpretation of the results presented with my fellow students. I appreciated the attention and help by Professor Klopper to critically read the methodology sections of a paper, to properly understand what exactly the research question was, and if statistical tests were appropriate to reach clinically sensible conclusions.

By Clare H

Jul 30, 2020

Maths is really not my strong point, yet Professor Juan Klopper explains the course content in an uncomplicated and understandable way. The use of video and reading notes helps set the topic and then cover in more detail. The weekly tests ensure you have understood the topic before moving on. The tests also explain why the question was right or wrong, again to help understand further. The whole course made me feel supported and I w and I am certainly better equipped to do a better job. Thankyou Dr Klopper for making it possible for me to finally have a better understanding the statistics in the literature.

By Sherryl

Jul 8, 2022

This course breaks down a very complex topic in manageable and easily comprehensible units of information. I've always been overwhelmed by statistics and I struggle with great difficulty to understand research articles. With this course, I not only understand the research articles I'm reading, I actually love and appreciate the effort put into these studies. What a great turn-around for someone like me who had minimal prior knowledge to now being able to converse about clinical research and statistics with improved confidence. Thank you Dr Klopper for offering this course and delivering it so effectively!

By Radia S

Jun 1, 2020

This course was such a perfect and well-structured introduction to the statistical analysis that's done in clinical research papers. I appreciated the fact that the instructor also made sure we learned how to search for research articles efficiently, and tasked us with searching for our own examples which helped me in navigating research articles and picking out information even better. I am so happy to state that now I have a better and deeper understanding of the work that goes into a clinical research and now I won't just be skipping to the results section but actually understand the whole article.

By Marcella D P

May 29, 2020

This course is really good. It allows you to understand deeply the statistics behind the articles and results we have contact every day when studying. Also, gives you a hability very important nowadays: you become capable of reading articles and analyzing them, formulating you own opinion and judgement of what is being presented. And all of that in a intuitive way, based on science and good methods of statistical analysis. I consider this a fundamental hability, essentially when we are facing a pandemia like we are in this moment.

By Aravindan V

Feb 15, 2016

Superb Course!! A beautifully structured introduction to the statistics needed to understand clinical research. Please be warned that this is not a course devised to learn statistics or how to conduct clinical research. It is exactly what the title suggests, an overview of statistics used in clinical research and how to understand them. Dr.Juan Klopper is a great teacher and his videos are succinct and filled with nuggets of key concepts. I would strongly suggest this course for a deeper understanding of clinical statistics.

By ramani r

Jul 19, 2020

This is one of the best courses I have taken on coursera. This course will really help one to understand the nuances of clinical research by enabling a strong understanding of statistical concepts commonly used in this research. Dr. Juan is a great teacher and he takes you through different concepts in the clinical research by bringing on examples from published research articles and also highlights how these concepts were applied to conclude the results stated in the article.

Thanks alot Dr. Juan for this course

By Bikash B

Jun 27, 2020

Hi I am a clinical Pediatrician, working in a medical college in Nepal. During my undergraduate and postgraduate classes, I have faced many problems in reading the methodology and result sections. But now this wonderful course helped me understand the basic fundamentals of research and choosing appropriate statistical analysis. Now I can easily review the research articles. The mentor Juan H Klopper has been quite simple and has made this course quite easy to understand to all the newcomers in statistics.

By Noha A G

Jan 1, 2019

This is one of the most interesting courses on biomedical statistics. The course was explained in a beautiful way, very simple and easy. Examples were related to the daily medical field and clinical research. Professor Juan H Klopper is an amazing mentor. I loved everything about this course. Really understanding what is behind statistics without going through the hassle of mathematics that every researcher obviously hates ! I highly recommend this course for everyone who is involved in clinical research.

By Dr.Neetha N P K

Jan 31, 2021

I thoroughly enjoyed the course. It gave me a clear understanding about the statistics behind a research paper . The course is well structured with good videos, reading material, assignments & quizzes. Dr. Klopper made things appear simpler and easy to understand. He also made it interesting by quoting research papers. The videos were crisp, clear and short. I do recommend Medical researchers to take up this course for a better understanding of a clinical research. Overall it was a good experience 👍

By Malaz A

Oct 31, 2019

a very beneficial course for medical researchers, it helped me get familiar with variable concepts of statistics without smothering me with mathematical jargon and mind fuzzing equations, it was simple easy to grasp and health profession-oriented. in this course, you'll have a better understanding of the statistical tools, figure out the right way to use them in analyzing data and getting reliable results. it also offers an explanation of how to interpret the results in a sophisticated way.

By Wojciech G

Mar 1, 2021

A basic, yet very insightful course for anyone interested in interpreting clinical data (correctly!). It explains fundamental statistical concepts (such as the p-value, distributions, sensitivity/specificity, etc.) in plain language and with visual clues. Although there are almost no mathematical formulas involved, some previous experience with statistics and reading scientific articles is necessary.Nice professor, useful knowledge, interesting material - definitelty recommended!

By Sarvan M

Aug 15, 2018

i found this course very intuitive in leveraging the basic understanding of statistics and why a particular statistic is applied in clinical. The course is unique providing practical exposure in understanding the topics like fetching article in pubmed, p-value, need of central limit theorem, hypothesis testing, ANOVA, sensitivity and specificity analysis used by the authors. I am pretty sure i applied this course practically to my student in class and results are encouraging.