RSS Edinburgh - Royal Statistical Society Edinburgh Local Group

Royal Statistical Society
Edinburgh Local group

Welcome to the webpages of the Edinburgh local group of the Royal Statistical Society. We arrange an annual programme of talks and workshops intended to appeal to anyone with an interest in statistics. All of our events are free, and are open both to members of the RSS and to non-members. We typically organise 6-8 events per year, which are usually held on a Tuesday evening. Refreshments are available beforehand, and events are usually followed by a trip to either a pub or a restaurant.

Forthcoming events

The next meeting of the Edinburgh local group of the RSS, which is scheduled to commence at the slightly earlier time of 5.45pm, is to take the form of a lively 90 minute debate between philosophers and medical statisticians.

Royal Statistical Society Interdisciplinary Debate
Academics and clinicians from all disciplines and specialities are warmly invited to attend.

Tuesday 12 June 2012 (17.45 - 19.15)
Refreshments available from 17.15
Randomized controlled trials in medical research - gold standard or unhealthy fixation?

DAVID PAPINEAU (Professor of Philosophy of Science, King's College London);
PROFESSOR NANCY CARTWRIGHT, Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE);
PROFESSOR JOHN H MCCOLL, Head of Statistics, School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Glasgow; and
GILLIAN RAAB, Professor Emeritus of Applied Statistics at Edinburgh Napier University

Is the randomized controlled trial (RCT) always the optimal choice in seeking an evidence base for causal relationships in clinical research? What role do the target population and ethical issues have to play in evaluating the external validity of an RCT? Indeed, are RCTs even necessary? These questions comprise a taster for the complex issues that will be raised during this lively informal debate involving experts from the fields of philosophy and medical statistics. Opportunities will be provided to ask questions and cast a final vote!

Poster: Download poster in PDF or RTF format.

Venue: Sydney Smith Lecture Theatre, Floor 2 (accessed via *Doorway 1*), University of Edinburgh Medical School, Teviot Place (http://www.ed.ac.uk/maps/buildings/medical-school)

Chair: Margaret MacDougall (email: Margaret.MacDougall@ed.ac.uk)

Other news

Local group committee for 2012

>>> List of members

>>> Wiki for committee members (password protected)

Further information

If you would like to receive email notifications of events that are organised by the group then please contact Adam Butler and ask to be added to the mailing list. Announcements of meetings are also posted to the ALLSTAT mailing list two weeks prior to the meeting.

Past meetings

Details of past meetings are available here:

Annual Meeting for Teachers of Medical Statistics 2008

This page is maintained by Adam Butler. Last updated 9 May 2012.