CAMS runs a series of introductory statistics courses twice a year. This series of one and two day courses focuses on the principles and practicalities of study design and analysis. All courses are designed for those interested in any type of data based health related research and aim to demystify statistics, with practical exercises and applications in health care. Several courses assume no prior knowledge; and two courses emphasise hands-on training with the user-friendly software SPSS® for Windows. If you are uncertain whether our introductory statistics and research methods course is necessary then try our quiz.

All courses take place in the Small Seminar room, Institute of Public Health, Cambridge, adjacent to Addenbrooke’s Hospital. For further information, or to reserve a place, please contact Marianne Blanc. It would help us if the first contact could be made by e-mail whenever possible. CAMS reserves the right to cancel courses and advises early booking for particular dates as places are limited.
If you are unsure which courses to attend please contact us, our course overview or quotes from past attendees or our summary of feedback might help. If you have attended some of our courses further information including datasets are available for some courses.

Below are basic details of our full range of courses with dates for the current session.

Please click on an individual course for further details:

Courses with no prerequisite:

1. Introductory Statistics and Research Methods
Choice 1: September 2013 – date to be announced in June (2-day course)
Choice 2: September 2013 – date to be announced in June (2-day course) 

Covering common statistical methods of design and analysis in medical research. No prior knowledge assumed.

2. Critical Appraisal
September 2013 – date to be announced in June

Introducing the skills needed to understand medical literature more fully, and to gain a health scepticism when reading published research.

3. Clinical Trials
date to be announced

Discussing basic concepts in randomised controlled trials, including sample size considerations.

Courses with prerequisites:

4. Getting Started With SPSS®
September 2013 – date to be announced in June (2-day course)

Hands-on supervised training with the user friendly statistics package SPSS® from beginner to intermediate level.
Prerequisite: Introductory Statistics and Research Methods or equivalent. Early booking is advised as places are limited.

5. Coping With Many Variables
September 2013 – date to be announced in June

Explaining multiple and logistic regression, and other methods of multivariable analysis for deeper understanding of research data.
Prerequisite: Introductory Statistics and Research Methods or equivalent

6. Statistics Using ‘R’: Free Software
September 2013 – date to be announced in June

From data analysis to publication-quality graphics, a hands-on introduction to this versatile free software.
Prerequisite: Introductory Statistics and Research Methods or equivalent.

7. Understanding Meta-Analysis
September 2013 – date to be announced in June

Interpreting evidence drawn from several studies. Prerequisite: Introductory Statistics and Research Methods or equivalent.

Course fees

Course fees depend on funding source and cancellation fees apply. All course fees include lunch, refreshments and a comprehensive set of course notes. The rates from Autumn 2008 are:

1-day courses: Cambridge University staff £150, NHS / other academic staff £175, Externals £200.
2-day courses: Cambridge University staff £275, NHS / other academic staff £325, Externals £375.

Discounted places are available for full-time University of Cambridge registered students, by prior arrangement and subject to availability. Students are required to provide a letter from their supervisor confirming that they are full time University of Cambridge registered students.

Cancellation Policy

After reserving a place, if you fail to attend a course, you will be automatically re-booked for the next time the course is offered. Alternatively, a colleague from the same billing account could be sent in your place. If you do not give CAMS five working days notice of cancellation, you can expect to be charged a cancellation fee of £40 per course day missed (or £25 for full-time students).

No Parking

Please note that there is no public parking available at the IPH site for courses. However, there is easy access to the site via the Babraham Road Park and Ride, and several buses serve Addenbrooke’s Hospital regularly from the city centre and the train station. The main hospital visitors’ car park costs around £15 for the day and is about 10 minutes’ walk from the IPH.

Course bookings

To reserve a place, please contact Marianne Blanc. It would help us if the first contact could be made by e-mail whenever possible. CAMS reserves the right to cancel courses and advises early booking for particular dates as places are limited.