GeroStats

Your student project

Start here.

From first idea to final write-up.

A clear next step, a useful resource and something to bring to supervision. Follow the route or open the stage you need today.

Your project route

What’s your next step?

First project or postgraduate dissertation: use the same route, with more depth where your question needs it. Open a step to find your resources.

  1. Shape your questionTurn an interest into something answerable.

    Start with the people, issue and outcome that interest you. Check what is feasible with your supervisor before committing.

    Start with the questionWork towards one focused research brief. The six-sentence project planConnect your question, approach and contribution.

    Bring to supervisionOne or two possible questions, why they matter and what you would need to answer them.

    Go deeper when needed: decide whether your question needs a formal hypothesis.

    Next: build your evidence base
  2. Build your evidence baseFind, read and organise the papers that matter.

    For each useful paper, note the question, measures, findings and limitations. Save the reference as you read.

    Search for evidencePlan a focused search and keep a search record. Read and appraise a paperUse the worked example and reading-note template. Organise references with EndNote or ZoteroBuild a library you can use when writing.

    Bring to supervisionA short reading list, one completed reading note and a clearer sense of the gap.

    For a larger review: agree the review type, scope and screening approach before expanding your search.

    Next: plan the study and data
  3. Plan the study and dataCheck the design, measurements and permissions.

    Agree the design, who or what is included, and when variables are measured. Confirm ethics, access and secure handling before using project data.

    Statistical foundationsUnderstand designs, variables, missingness and bias. Collecting survey data?Plan questions, sampling and piloting with the handbook. Using the Newcastle 85+ Study?Explore access, study phases, measures and papers.

    Bring to supervisionA brief study plan, a variable or evidence list, and any access or ethics questions.

    For a more developed analysis: document timing, confounding and your rationale for choosing covariates.

    Next: get ready to analyse
  4. Get ready, then analyseLearn one tool. Start by understanding your data.

    Agree which software to use with your supervisor. You only need one. Practise first, then check and describe your own data before choosing a method.

    Jennifer’s fictional cohort coursePractice data and a guided analysis from start to finish.

    Bring to supervisionOne checked descriptive table or plot, the code or syntax that produced it, and any data problems.

    When your question needs modelling: use the course’s model map and confounding walkthrough. Agree your analysis plan first.

    Next: make sense of your findings
  5. Make sense of your findingsExplain the size, uncertainty and limits of a result.

    Return to your question. Explain what you found, how uncertain it is and what the design allows you to conclude.

    Estimates and confidence intervalsRead magnitude, direction and precision. What a p-value meansInterpret a result without overstating it.

    Bring to supervisionOne result in plain English, its uncertainty and the main limitations.

    Unpack the statistics: explore where p-values come from, errors and power, and multiple testing when relevant.

    Next: write, revise and share
  6. Write, revise and shareBring the question, evidence and argument together.

    Keep notes and draft as you go. Use feedback to strengthen the argument, then check the actual submission against your degree handbook.

    Dissertation and project guidancePlan the structure, write clearly and revise with purpose. The final submission checkReview the argument, tables, references and requirements. Optional inspiration: Data StoriesSee health inequalities and unpaid care communicated visually.

    Bring to supervisionA short draft or figure with a specific request for feedback.

    For a longer dissertation: check that every chapter supports the same question and that your claims stay within the evidence.

    Plan your next supervision meeting

Projects loop back. Reading, writing and supervision continue throughout; revisit a step whenever your question or plan changes.

A route for a specific dataset

Working with Newcastle 85+?

The study guide brings together access documents, study phases, measurements, questionnaires, GP record-review schedules and papers by topic.

Open the Newcastle 85+ guide

Begin with the study. Then follow your question.

  1. Study protocol 2007
  2. Health and disease at age 85 2009
  3. For medicines projects: Characterising polypharmacy in the very old 2021

Then explore mortality, dependency and difficulty taking medicines, or another theme. Confirm available measures, collection dates and access arrangements with your supervisor.

Share papers, discuss ideas and help each other learn. Keep your own analysis and writing. Your degree handbook and agreed project requirements guide the level of detail you need.