Full course description
Date: 6th July, 2026
Modality: In-person
Duration: One day, 9:00am to 5:00pm
Price: $550 (incl. GST)
Bayesian statistics is emerging in importance for clinical trials, meta-analysis, and analysis of complex data, but it is not often included in basic biostatistical training. This course will explain the Bayesian paradigm in probability and discuss the use of Bayesian approaches in clinical trials, in meta-analysis, and in hierarchical data analysis. Participants will learn how the frequentist and classical approaches differ in principle, and when they are or are not likely to provide different answers in practice.
Course Structure and topics covered:
The single-day course consists of four sessions. Each session starts with a lecture component. The first three sessions then have exercises for the students and a discussion of the exercises.
Topics covered: Foundations of probability, prior and posterior distributions, Bayes’ rule; implications for trials and meta-analyses; hierarchical data and shrinkage.
Learning Outcomes
Students should be able to:
- Explain the difference between Bayesian and frequetist interpretations of probability
- Choose and defend neutral priors, opinion-based priors, and data-based priors for simple estimands in their clinical field
- Describe settings where Bayesian analysis is more or less likely to ffect clinical conclusions or research design
- Describe the effect of multiple comparison on Bayesian analyses
- Motivate "shrinkage" as a desirable feature of high-dimensional estimation and describe its impact on disease maps
Who should attend?
Those with basic clinical or epidemiology-based training in statistics and an interest in finding out about Bayesian statistics.
Payment for short courses is normally by credit card. If you need to pay by invoice or require assistance, please email shortcourses@auckland.ac.nz. Please note the University does not issue individual invoices for amounts less than $500 New Zealand dollars.
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