Databases and exposure scenarios

The course is organized into two parts, namely "Informatics and databases" and "Statistics applied to epidemiology".
Informatics and databases part of the course aims at providing the basic concepts of database and database management systems, with focus on relational data modeling and SQL query language. To develop a deeper understanding of the relational data organization in real contexts, examples relational data schemas of biological databases and SQL queries to extract data from them are presented and discussed.
As regards the statistical knowledge, the course aims at providing the fundamental concepts of descriptive and inferential statistics and epidemiological study design. The course also provides concrete tools to apply the main statistical techniques to real cases. At the end of the course the student should demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the main statistical techniques for the description and analysis of the phenomena being studied and the basic principles for setting up an epidemiological study; should have the ability to apply the knowledge acquired and the ability to interpret the results of the statistical analyses; should develop the skills necessary to continue studies independently in the context of statistical analysis and epidemiology.

Regarding informatics and databases, students are expected to be able to understand relational database schemas and languages and to describe the meaning, the properties, the relationships, and the constraints featuring data stored in a database. Students will be able to apply concepts, models, and languages introduced in the course to formulate SQL queries over a database schema, with appropriate conditions to filter and retrieve target data satisfying specific user needs, also referring to real biological databases.
As regards the statistical knowledge, students will be expected to have assimilated the concepts exposed in the teaching, knowing how to critically compare the use of different statistical tests and study designs. In addition, students will develop the basic skills necessary to design an epidemiological study and face its statistical analysis.