Version of 5/3/05
These instructions apply to the MPH comprehensive examination in biostatistics / public health statistics. As of April 2003, the format of the test has been modified so that the computer is no longer used during the exam. This has been done for pragmatic reasons. You still need to be able to interpret computer output as it relates to data analysis.
Coverage: The test covers the first 17 units (minus Chapter 4) in StatPrimer . The test is brief and does not go into the depth of a midterm or final.
Types of analyses:
Format: The test is open-ended. There is some plotting and some calculation, but most of the test is directed toward using and interpreting output. The output is in SPSS format, as we've used in class.
Materials: Please bring to your calculator, pencils, and your Procedure Notebook to the exam.
If you have any questions, contact me via email gerstman@email.sjsu.edu .
Best of luck on the examination,
Bud Gerstman
Comment: I think it is not possible to get a reliable and valid measure of a student's competence in this area using a 45 minute test. I believe that it is difficult enough to get an accurate " read" on your level of understanding with 8 long homework assignments and two, 2-hour exams over a sixteen weeks. How, then will a 45 minute text crammed among 4 other 45 minute tests be valid? The exam, however, is necessary. Therefore, my philosophy on the test is to make the test as uncomplicated as possible while still testing basic understandings.