Sample Size and Power Determination

Sample Size and Power Determination

This course will teach you how to make sample size determinations for various statistical tests and for confidence intervals, as needed for experimental studies such as comparison studies, as well as for other types of experiments.

This course will teach you how to make sample size determinations for various statistical tests and for confidence intervals, as needed for experimental studies such as comparison studies, as well as for other types of experiments.

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Overview

This course offers an introduction to sample size and power analysis and will show how to use it effectively to plan the appropriate sample size for a study. The power of a study explains its ability to detect a treatment effect of a specified size, if it exists. The goal of power analysis is to balance controllable and uncontrollable factors that influence a study by treating them as a series of “What if’s.” This process of finding a balance among factors can be aided by the use of graphs to visualize a range of options in a single picture in order to find the one that strikes the optimal balance between feasible sample size and acceptable power.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of the course students will understand how to use power analysis to effectively plan the appropriate sample size for a study. They will learn to recognize which factors are controllable and which are not, and how to balance those factors to find the optimal trade-off between feasible sample size and acceptable power.

  • Specify the factors that interact to determine sample size
  • Estimate unknowns needed to calculate sample size
  • Deal with paired data Find sample size for a regression analysis
  • Use software to calculate sample size needed for tests of means, proportions

Who Should Take This Course

Anyone responsible for the planning of a study, or its subsequent analysis. Investigators writing grant applications or other proposals in which sample size must be specified.

Instructors

mr-kuber-deokar

Mr. Kuber Deokar

Mr. Kuber Deokar holds a Masters degree in Statistics from University of Pune, India, where he also taught undergraduate statistics. Mr. Deokar holds the position of Instructional Operations Supervisor at Statistics.com. He is responsible for coordination of statistics.com online courses, and ensures seamless interactions between the management team, course instructors, teaching assistants, and students. He also serves as the senior teaching assistant and shares instructional responsibilities for several courses, and handles consultancy assignments, working from our office in Pune, India.
See Instructor Bio

Course Syllabus

Week 1

Introduction to Sample Size Determination and Power, Including Useful Software

  • Hypothesis tests and confidence intervals
  • Factors that determine sample size
  • Sample size for estimating a population mean
  • Examples, including a study from the literature
  • External and internal pilot studies
  • Ways to estimate sigma
  • What should be avoided:  Retrospective power and standardized effect sizes
  • Ethical issues in power analysis
  • Recommended references
  • Software

Week 2

Tests on Population Means (continued)

  • T-Test or Z-Test for population mean?
  • Testing the normality assumption
  • Confidence Intervals on Power and/or Sample Size?
  • Two-sample study from the literature with unequal sample sizes
    • Sample sizes determined by scientist in two stages without software
    • Illustration of more efficient sample determination using software
  • Using coefficient of variation
  • Paired data
  • Additional examples

Week 3

Tests on Proportions and Variances

  • One proportion
    • Software disagreement and rectification
  • Two proportions
  • Options, including transformations built into software, for tests of proportions
  • One variance and two variances
  • Examples

Week 4

Regression and Design

  • Simple linear regressionComplexity caused by what must be inputted
    • Complexity caused by what must be inputted
  • Multiple linear regression
  • Optional material: Repeated measures designs, Logrank test for survival analysis
  • Literature references for sample size determination with more advanced statistical methods and some information on corresponding software capability

Class Dates

2019

Nov 1, 2019 to Nov 29, 2019

2020

Apr 10, 2020 to May 8, 2020

Oct 30, 2020 to Nov 27, 2020

2021

No classes scheduled at this time.

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Prerequisites

Introductory Statistics

We assume you are versed in statistics or have the equivalent understanding of topics covered in our Statistics 1 and Statistics 2 courses. but do not require them as eligibility to enroll in this course. Please review the course description for each of our introductory statistics courses, estimate which best matches your level of understanding of the material covered in these courses, then take the short assessment test for that course. If you can not answer more than half of the questions correctly, we suggest you take our Statistics 1 and Statistics 2 courses prior to taking this course.

Some familiarity with experimental designs would be helpful, but is not required.

For those working in the life sciences, Biostatistics 1 – For Medical Science and Public Health may also be helpful.

What Our Students Say​

The course helps me understand different approaches (pros and cons of each approach) in sample size estimates and provides hands-on experience in using various softwares. I highly recommend this course to folks involved in clinical study design

Dewan Zeng
Director, Clinical Research at Gilead Sciences

My statistical knowledge and base continues to increase significantlynow with each additional Statistics.com course taken. While I may not be usingall the learnings directly in my day-to-day work (for example, regressionmodeling or calculating sample sizes), they are all influencing how I thinkabout, approach, and work with data every day; the way in which I describe andpresent data and findings to others; and the way in which I interpret otherstudies and reports from other researchers, analysts, and statisticians, etc

David Plumstead
District of Nipissing Social Services Administration Board

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I transfer or withdraw from a course?

We have a flexible transfer and withdrawal policy that recognizes circumstances may arise to prevent you from taking a course as planned. You may transfer or withdraw from a course under certain conditions.

  • Students are entitled to a full refund if a course they are registered for is canceled.
  • You can transfer your tuition to another course at any time prior to the course start date or the drop date, however a transfer is not permitted after the drop date.
  • Withdrawals on or after the first day of class are entitled to a percentage refund of tuition.

Please see this page for more information.

Who are the instructors at the Institute?

The Institute has more than 60 instructors who are recruited based on their expertise in various areas in statistics. Our faculty members are:

  • Authors of well-regarded texts in their area;
  • Advisory board members;
  • Senior faculty; and
  • Educators who have made important contributions to the field of statistics or online education in statistics.

The majority of our instructors have more than five years of teaching experience online at the Institute.

Please visit our faculty page for more information on each instructor at The Institute for Statistics Education.

Please see our knowledge center for more information.

What type of courses does the Institute offer?

The Institute offers approximately 80 courses each year. Topics include basic survey courses for novices, a full sequence of introductory statistics courses, bridge courses to more advanced topics. Our courses cover a range of topics including biostatistics, research statistics, data mining, business analytics, survey statistics, and environmental statistics.

Please see our course search or knowledge center for more information.

Do your courses have for-credit options?

Our courses have several for-credit options:

  • Continuing education units (CEU)
  • College credit through The American Council on Education (ACE CREDIT)
  • Course credits that are transferable to the INFORMS Certified Analytics Professional (CAP®)

Please see our knowledge center for more information.

Is the Institute for Statistics Education certified?

The Institute for Statistics Education is certified to operate by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV). For more information visit: http://www.schev.edu

Please see our knowledge center for more information.

Visit our knowledge base and learn more.

FAQs + Knowledge Base

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Additional Course Information

Organization of Course

This course takes place online at The Institute for 4 weeks. During each course week, you participate at times of your own choosing – there are no set times when you must be online. Course participants will be given access to a private discussion board. In class discussions led by the instructor, you can post questions, seek clarification, and interact with your fellow students and the instructor.

At the beginning of each week, you receive the relevant material, in addition to answers to exercises from the previous session. During the week, you are expected to go over the course materials, work through exercises, and submit answers. Discussion among participants is encouraged. The instructor will provide answers and comments, and at the end of the week, you will receive individual feedback on your homework answers.

Time Requirements

This is a 4-week course requiring 10-15 hours per week of review and study, at times of your choosing.

Homework

Homework in this course consists of short answer questions to test concepts and guided data analysis problems using software.

In addition to assigned readings, this course also has supplemental readings available online.

Course Text

All necessary materials will be provided online, including a few relevant journal articles.  The Dr. Thomas Ryan’s recently published book, Sample Size Determination and Power, is recommended as a reference book.

Please order a copy of your course textbook prior to course start date.

Software

Participants should have access to a software package in which they can do power and sample size calculations. Power and Precision, MINITAB, and nQuery are used in the course Notes and examples.  Other software packages such as Stata, PASS, and Russ Lenth’s Java applet may be used for the weekly assignments; assistance with these other packages may be available from the teaching assistants.

Software Uses and Descriptions | Available Free Versions
To learn more about the software used in this course, or how to obtain free versions of software used in our courses, please read our knowledge base article “What software is used in courses?” 

Course Fee & Information

Enrollment
Courses may fill up at any time and registrations are processed in the order in which they are received. Your registration will be confirmed for the first available course date unless you specify otherwise.

Transfers and Withdrawals
We have flexible policies to transfer to another course or withdraw if necessary.

Group Rates
Contact us to get information on group rates.

Discounts
Academic affiliation?  In most courses you are eligible for a discount at checkout.

New to Statistics.com?  Click here for a special introductory discount code.  

Invoice or Purchase Order
Add $50 service fee if you require a prior invoice, or if you need to submit a purchase order or voucher, pay by wire transfer or EFT, or refund and reprocess a prior payment.

Options for Credit and Recognition

This course is eligible for the following credit and recognition options:

No Credit
You may take this course without pursuing credit or a record of completion.

Mastery or Certificate Program Credit
If you are enrolled in mastery or certificate program that requires demonstration of proficiency in this subject, your course work may be assessed for a grade.

CEUs and Proof of Completion
If you require a “Record of Course Completion” along with professional development credit in the form of Continuing Education Units (CEU’s), upon successfully completing the course, CEU’s and a record of course completion will be issued by The Institute upon your request.

Supplemental Information

There is no supplemental content for this course.

Miscellaneous

There is no additional information for this course.

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Sample Size and Power Determination
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