Students

STAT8606 – Data Management and Statistical Computing

2020 – Session 1, Fully online/virtual

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update

Due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, any references to assessment tasks and on-campus delivery may no longer be up-to-date on this page.

Students should consult iLearn for revised unit information.

Find out more about the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and potential impacts on staff and students

General Information

Download as PDF
Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
Admission to MBioStat or GradDipBioStat or GradCertBioStat or MActPrac
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description
The aim of this unit is to provide students with the knowledge and skills required to undertake moderate to high level data manipulation and management in preparation for statistical analysis of data typically arising in health and medical research. The topics covered are: o Module 1 - Stata and SAS: The basics (importing and exporting data, recoding data, formatting data, labelling variable names and data values; using dates, data display and summary presentation, and creating programs) o Module 2 - Stata and SAS: graphs, data management and statistical quality assurance methods (including advanced graphics to produce publication-quality graphs) o Module 3 - Data management using Stata and SAS (using functions to generate new variables, appending, merging, transposing longitudinal data; programming skills for efficient and reproducible use of these packages, including loops and arguments. Because of the multi-institutional nature of the BCA units, there is an early cut-off for enrolment in this unit, which is typically one week before the start of the session. Please contact the program coordinator for details.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: undertake data manipulation and management using two major statistical software packages (Stata and R)
  • ULO2: appropriately display and summarise data using statistical software
  • ULO3: Understand how to check and clean data
  • ULO4: link data files through unique and non-unique identifiers
  • ULO5: Have fundamental programming skills for efficient use of statistical software
  • ULO6: Understand key principles of confidentiality and privacy in data storage, management and analysis

Assessment Tasks

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update

Assessment details are no longer provided here as a result of changes due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Students should consult iLearn for revised unit information.

Find out more about the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and potential impacts on staff and students

Delivery and Resources

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update

Any references to on-campus delivery below may no longer be relevant due to COVID-19.

Please check here for updated delivery information: https://ask.mq.edu.au/account/pub/display/unit_status

TBC

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit the Student Policy Gateway (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/student-policy-gateway). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

If you would like to see all the policies relevant to Learning and Teaching visit Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central).

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/study/getting-started/student-conduct​

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

Learning Skills

Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to help you improve your marks and take control of your study.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.

Student Enquiries

For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au

If you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.