Clinical trial design and analysis: the basics and recent advances

Clinical trials are the cornerstone of medical and public health research. In this two-day course, we provide an overview of the key issues in designing and planning a randomised trial. This includes discussion of cutting-edge designs and concepts in trials including the estimand framework and adaptive platform trials.

Course overview

Topics covered in this course include:

• An introduction to randomised controlled trials
• Developing your research question and trial protocol
• Key aspects of randomised trials
• Sample size
• Pilot and feasibility
• Alternative (fixed) trial designs
• Adaptive and platform trials
• The estimand framework
• Analysis and reporting of trials
• Data safety monitoring boards

Course format

The course will be delivered by members of the Methods and Implementation Support for Clinical and Health Research (MISCH) Hub at the University of Melbourne and the Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics Unit (CEBU) at Murdoch Children's Research Institute and the University of Melbourne.

The course will be offered as a hybrid course, either in-person or online via Zoom. It will include a mixture of lectures with time for discussion and practical sessions.

This course is delivered by the Methods and Implementation Support for Clinical and Health Research (MISCH) Hub at the University of Melbourne and the Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics Unit (CEBU), a working partnership between Murdoch Children's Research Institute and the University of Melbourne.

Course dates

This course includes two full-day sessions (9:00 am - 5:00 pm) on 17-18 July 2023.

Course details

Venue:

or

Online via Zoom (details provided following registration)

Course fees (classroom & online)

• $300 for MACH-affiliated people and students.

• $650 for external/non-MACH affiliated people.

The course feel will include morning and afternoon tea. Lunch is not included.

Payment and registration

Payment by credit card (not available to Murdoch Children's Research Institute staff)

Payment by credit card (not available to Murdoch Children's Research Institute staff).

You or your organisation can register and pay for the course directly via Trybooking with a credit card. Follow the prompts to make payment and register. You will receive course confirmation and tax invoice via email.

Please note: There is a Trybooking fee of 50 cents per registration which will be applied when you register online.

Trybooking – Clinical trial design and analysis

Payment via Unimarket (Murdoch Children's Research Institute staff only)

Payment for Murdoch Children's staff must be made via Unimarket. Murdoch Children's staff must not make credit card payments and seek reimbursement from a Murdoch Children's cost centre (this is not permitted).

• Go to Unimarket (also can be accessed from the Murdoch Children's intranet homepage for internal staff).
• Log in and search for CEBU as a supplier.
• Select CEBU courses and add the required course to the shopping cart for the CEBU course/s you wish to enrol in.
• The GL account for training is 34460. Instructions on using Unimarket are on the intranet (internal staff only).
• Once your Cost Centre manager approves it, CEBU will email you with the Trybooking link and promotional code to register for the course.

Please note: Your place in the course is not confirmed until you have registered via Trybooking.

Cancellation of registration

You can apply for a refund if it is received seven (7) calendar days prior to the course start date. No refunds or credits will be issued for cancellations or non-attendance after this time.   

See our full course timetable below for information on all CEBU courses.

CEBU course timetable