Think Like an Epidemiologist Challenge

Think Like an Epidemiologist Challenge

This is a Trial event at all 2013 Regional tournaments
and at the 2013 State Tournament

Note: Schools that choose not to participate in this event during the SO Regional competitions
are NOT eligible to participate in this event in the SO State competition.

The 2012 Think Like an Epidemiologist Challenge (Epi Challenge) is an event for which points will be awarded at both the regional and state competitions. The Epi Challenge will ask teams of four students each to test a hypothesis epidemiologically. This Science Olympiad (SO) event has been designed to be realistic and require you to "do" epidemiology so that you experience some of the challenges that epidemiologists face when testing hypotheses in the real world. It will require you to develop and use a variety of epidemiologic skills efficiently and effectively. It will require you to use judgment and innovation. And by posting this event in September, it provides you with the time for learning, rehearsal, practice, consultation, feedback, and refinement.

If you wish to compete in the Epi Challenge, you will:

· Identify four SO team members to work on this event together. One member of the team will be considered the leader and this person will receive all team email correspondence from the SO judges.

· Select a health-related hypothesis you wish to test using observational epidemiologic methods. Please note the following important information:

o Hypotheses that have been evaluated by your school’s SO team in the Epi Challenge event in a prior year may not be repeated.

o Hypotheses should be testable using a one-time anonymous survey instrument.

o You may not use an experimental design or intervention to test your hypothesis. There can be no manipulation of the exposure.

· Have each member of your team complete three specified modules from the online “Protecting Human Research Participants” training. If you have done this for a previous competition, you still need to do it again for the 2013 competition.

· Participate in your regional SO competition by submitting a study proposal online. The proposal will be submitted online in two parts. Detailed directions for online submissions, and a description of the required elements of the proposal may be viewed by clicking here

o Part 1 of the submission is due on or before November 2, 2012 if you register for the SO competition during the regular registration period. [Note: If you register for the SO competition during the late registration period, you may submit Part 1 of your Epi Challenge proposal no later than November 16, 2012, with the understanding that you will have less time to complete and submit Part 2.] Your Part 1 submission will include identifying information about your team and a brief statement of your hypothesis. Begin your Part 1 submission by clicking on the following URL http://www.teachepidemiology.org/SO1.php. For teams submitting Part 1 by November 2, your student team leader and your SO coach will be informed no later than November 7, 2012 if there are any serious problems with the proposed hypothesis. Once you receive notification that your proposed hypothesis is acceptable, your team can proceed to Part 2 of the submission.

o Part 2 of the submission must be completed online no later than December 15, 2012 at http://www.teachepidemiology.org/SO2.php Your participation in the regional Epi Challenge event consists of the submissions of the online proposal (Parts 1 and 2), which will be scored by the judges. You will not need to do anything on the day of your Regional SO Event for the Epi Challenge. Your Epi Challenge score will be available on the day of your Regional SO Event. Any concerns regarding your study proposal will be transmitted to your SO student team leader and your SO coach via email shortly after your Regional SO Tournament.

· If your school qualifies to attend the State SO competition, then test your hypothesis among high school students from your school district, during the remainder of January and first half of February, 2013. You will then have approximately two weeks to conduct your data analysis and summarize your findings.

· Prepare a poster presentation describing your study, according the SO Epi Challenge specifications found at this link. Send an electronic copy of your poster to epichallenge.scienceolympiad@gmail.com no later than March 1, 2013, (11 days prior to the NJ SO Finals) so that the epidemiologist judges will have time to evaluate your projects and to prepare questions to ask you during the finals. Instructions for submitting the electronic version of the poster may be accessed at the link provided. Bring the hardcopy of your poster, along with paper surveys, to the state SO finals at 8 AM on the day of the event March 12, 2013.

· Discuss the results of your study with Science Olympiad judges during one or more morning poster sessions at the NJ SO Finals on March 12, 2013.

· Participate in an afternoon debriefing meeting with SO judges at the NJ SO Finals. Based on the judges’ evaluation of your work, be awarded points that count towards your final NJ SO standings.

If you have any questions about the event, please submit an email to epichallenge.scienceolympiad@gmail.com

Hypothesis Selection

Your four-student SO team will select a health-related hypothesis to test epidemiologically. The hypothesis that you choose MUST NOT require the collection of any information that might be considered embarrassing, sensitive or illegal. In addition, all data must be collected anonymously (without anything that could link the student to their responses). Questions on race and/or ethnicity combined with other responses may make it possible to identify respondents; therefore do not ask for this information. You may not test the same hypothesis that your school’s SO team tested in the Epi Challenge event in a prior year.

Your hypothesis statement should state the hypothesized relationship, including direction, between an exposure variable and an outcome variable.

Make sure that the hypothesis that you choose is of genuine interest to you because you will be spending a great deal of your time and energy exploring it.

When you submit your health-related hypothesis, you will also be asked to briefly respond to the following:

Briefly explain why your study team thinks this is an important hypothesis to test.

Discuss the reason(s) why your team thinks it will be possible to test this hypothesis in your school.

Examples of hypotheses that were approved for this event in the past include :

Students who regularly eat school cafeteria food have a higher-fat diet.
Students who participate in team sports get a better night’s rest.
Students who have a low-fat diet are more physically active.
Students who regularly watch TV evening news or regularly read a major newspaper (hard copy or online) know more facts about the H1N1 pandemic.
Students who exercise regularly have higher academic performance.

Training in “Protecting Human Research Participants”

When you test your hypothesis epidemiologically, you will be asking human subjects (high school students from your school district) to participate in your study. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has identified specific ways for human subjects to be treated so that they are “protected,” if they volunteer to participate in a study. Your proposal must describe how you will protect the human subjects in your study. Therefore, each member of your four-student SO team must do the following:

Complete three of the seven training modules: History, Codes and Regulations, and Respect for Persons.

Complete the short quizzes at the ends of the Codes and Regulations and the Respect for Persons modules. (There is no quiz for the History module.)

As evidence that you have completed and passed the two quizzes, return to the “main menu,” Print Screen, and embed into a Word document as below. If you completed this training previously, you must complete it again in order to participate in the 2013 Epi Challenge.

Submit one copy of the evidence of “Protecting Human Research Participants” training for each team member, along with Part 2 of your online proposal submission no later than December 15, 2012. Instructions for submission of this Word document will be included in the Part 2 submission form.

Please note that the study data must be collected anonymously (without any names or directly identifiable information such as Student ID) and that you must submit all paper copies of surveys to the SO judges on March 12, 2013. The SO judges will then discard these materials to insure the privacy of respondents.

Online Submission of the Study Proposal (Part 1 and Part 2)

Your proposal will be submitted electronically by responding to specific questions. The electronic submission will be in two parts at two separate times.

· Part 1 must be submitted no later than November 2, 2012 – and you may access the online form at http://www.teachepidemiology.org/SO1.php. Proposals submitted after November 2, 2012 will not be evaluated. [As noted above, schools with late registration for the SO competition may submit Part 1 no later than November 16, 2012, with the understanding that they will have less time to complete and submit Part 2.]

· Part 2 must be submitted no later than December 15, 2012 – you may access the online form at http://www.teachepidemiology.org/SO2.php. Proposals submitted after December 15, 2012 will not be evaluated.

TIPS FOR ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION

Be prepared to enter all of the required information for Part 1 during one session and for Part 2 during one session. Part 2 should only be submitted after your Part 1 session has been approved (via an email from event judges).

If you go offline while you a filling out a submission form, it will not retain what you have written when you go to the online form again.

Make a copy of your submissions (Part 1 and Part 2) before you click on SUBMIT. After you click on SUBMIT, you will see a record of the form you have just filled out. This is your FINAL chance to print it out for your own records.

For the Part 2 form, also remember to email the required appendices to epichallenge.scienceolympiad@gmail.com. You will receive notice that your email has been received.

To begin to prepare your proposal, you may wish to familiarize yourself with How to Conduct Surveys: A Step-by-Step Guide (Paperback) by Arlene Fink (Editor), Sheuren Frits, What Is a Survey (PDF file available at http://client.norc.org/whatisasurvey/download.htm) and Choi BCK and Pak AWC, “A Catalogue of Biases in Questionnaires,“ Preventing Chronic Disease Volume 2, No. 1 January 2005 (http://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2005/jan/pdf/04_0050.pdf). You may also wish to visit http://www.teachepidemiology.org/EpEdRes.html and http://www.epiedmovement.org/links.html for many resources for learning epidemiology.

· We also encourage you to contact public health professionals for advice.

Required Elements of the Part 1 Online Proposal

2013 Science Olympiad (SO)

Think Like an Epidemiologist Challenge (Epi Challenge)

Submit Part 1 of your proposal no later than midnight, November 2, 2012. Hypotheses submitted after November 2, 2012 will not be evaluated. You will be notified as to whether or not Part 1 of your proposal has been accepted by November 7, 2012. [As noted above, schools with late registration for the SO competition will be allowed to submit Part 1 no later than November 16, 2012 and will be notified whether or not Part 1 of the proposal has been accepted by November 19, 2012. Remember that these late submissions will have less time to complete and submit Part 2.]

PARTICIPANT INFORMATION AND HYPOTHESIS

1. State

2. Name of School

3. School Location (Town or Township)

4. Regional Competition (Camden, NJIT, or Union County)

5. Student Leader of Study Team

6. Student Leader email address

7. Names of Team Members 2-4

8. SO Coach name

9. SO Coach email address

10. SO Coach phone number

11. HYPOTHESIS: Clearly state the hypothesis your team proposes to test. State it in a manner that suggests that the outcome under study will vary in light of the presence or absence of (or greater or lesser amounts of) the exposure under study. The hypothesis that is chosen MUST NOT require the collection of any information that might be considered embarrassing, sensitive or illegal. See general instructions for hypothesis selection, including a list of examples of hypothesis.

12. Briefly explain why your study team thinks this is an important hypothesis to test.

13. Discuss the reason(s) why your team thinks it will be possible to test this hypothesis in your school.

This is the end of Part 1 of the Online Proposal. Your submission will be evaluated and your student team leader and your SO coach will receive an email letting you know if your proposed hypothesis is: (a) acceptable as stated; or ( b) should be modified based upon the judges’ comments and resubmitted for approval. Do not continue writing your proposal until after you have been notified that your hypothesis has been approved by the judges.

Required Elements of the Part 2 Online Proposal

2013 Science Olympiad (SO)

Think Like an Epidemiologist Challenge (Epi Challenge)

Submit Part 2 of your proposal no later than midnight, December 15, 2012. Proposals submitted after December 15, 2012 will not be evaluated. Your proposal will be evaluated in its entirety according to the following rubric:

Proposal Exceeds Expectations		Proposal Meets Expectations		Proposal Fails to Meet Expectations
Proposal is complete, thoughtful, and intellectually rigorous. Justifications are insightful and persuasive. Everything that is written is correct and needed. Proposal illustrates a good understanding of epidemiological concepts.		Proposal is complete but does not provide evidence of intellectual rigor. Justifications are correct, but are not entirely persuasive. While everything that is written is correct and there are no serious misunderstandings of any epidemiological concepts, some information is provided which is not relevant to the study hypothesis.		Proposal is incomplete, naïve, and/or superficial. Justifications are weak. There are incorrect and/or superfluous statements. There are misunderstandings of key epidemiological concepts.

PARTICIPANT INFORMATION AND STUDY ELEMENTS

1. State

2. Name of School

3. School Location (Town or Township)

4. Your school’s assigned SO State Finals number (example C-09)

5. Name of Student Leader of Study Team (first name, last name)

6. Student Leader email address

7. HYPOTHESIS: If your hypothesis was approved as stated in your Part 1 online submission, re-type it here. If you have made changes to your hypothesis that was subsequently approved, state your new hypothesis here.

8. JUSTIFICATION: Based on a review of literature, explain why the testing of your hypothesis is important in terms of existing knowledge and / or scientific questions about possible relationships between this exposure and outcome, or new questions based on intuition and logic. Cite scholarly sources (author and date) within the text, and list the full references at the end of your justification.

9. STUDY VARIABLES AND SURVEY QUESTIONS: a. Name your exposure variable and describe what it means; b. What question(s) will be used to measure your exposure variable?; c. Describe any challenges you might have in measuring the exposure variable; d. Name your outcome variable and describe what it means; e. What question(s) will be used to measure your outcome variable?; f. Describe any challenges you might have in measuring the outcome variable; g. Will you collect information on variables which may modify the relationship between the exposure and outcome? If yes, please provide a list of these variables.

10. STUDY DESIGN: Provide a description of the cross-sectional study design and explain why your proposed study is a cross-sectional epidemiologic study.

11. SOURCE POPULATION: Describe the source population from which your study sample will be selected. Describe who is, and is not eligible to be part of the source population and the approximate size of the source population. Describe the likelihood that you will have access to this source population

12. STUDY SAMPLE: Describe how you will select your study sample from the source population, the approximate size of your study sample, and a brief justification for this selection method and the sample size chosen.

13. RECRUITMENT AND INFORMED CONSENT: Describe the process by which potential participants will be contacted and invited to participate. Also describe the process by which the informed consent script will be administered so any possible coercion is avoided and the protection of participants’ privacy is ensured. (Note that your informed consent script is required in the Appendix, and it should be an adaptation of the template script provided.

14. DATA COLLECTION AND DATA MANAGEMENT: Describe a practical and realistic plan for data collection in your high school setting. Include a description of the mode of administration of the survey (school mail, one-on-one interview, or self-administered in a classroom) that will assure anonymity, privacy, and data integrity. Also describe data management plans for handling survey forms, data storage, and the destruction of electronic and paper copies after the NJ State SO event.

15. ANALYSIS PLAN: Describe how your data will be analyzed. Be sure to include information on the following:

· CONTINGENCY TABLE: Fill in the two boxes in a mock table to show how your exposure and outcome variables will be analyzed in a contingency table in order to test your hypothesis.

· PREVALENCE: Describe how you will calculate the prevalence of your outcome variable. Provide the formula for this calculation.

· PREVALENCE COMPARISONS: Describe how you will compare the prevalences of your outcome variable among the exposed and unexposed groups, provide the formula for this calculation, and name any statistical test(s) you plan to use to determine the likelihood that the differences between prevalence among the exposed and unexposed groups could have occurred by chance.

16. STUDY LIMITATIONS: Consider potential limitations of your study as related to study design, selection of your sample of participants, and/or measurement issues. (If you do not think there are limitations in one or more of these areas, state that there are no limitations.)

17. STUDY STRENGTHS: Describe the strengths of your study.

18. TIME LINE: Provide planned dates of completion for key study activities.

· Receive review of full Proposal: Scores will be available at Regional SO

· Pre-test survey

· Finalize survey

· Finalize study procedures

· Execute plans to sample the source population to obtain study participants

· Recruit potential study participants and obtain informed consent

· Collect data with administration of questionnaire survey according to plans

· Organize data and double check for possible errors in transfer from paper questionnaire to summary sheets and/or to computerized databases

· Perform analyses

· Discuss results and presentation of results among study team

· Prepare /Complete PowerPoint poster slides

· Email PowerPoint slides to judges on or before March 1, 2013

· Present 48 x 36 inch poster for SO State Finals on March 12, 2013 (poster to venue by 8 AM)

· Submit all paper records to SO Judges for disposal: March 12, 2013

Required Appendices

Some items in the appendix may be cut and pasted directly into the Proposal 2 online submission form. Materials that cannot be submitted directly into the online submission form should be submitted by preparing 1 PDF file (if possible) and submitting the file via email to epichallenge.scienceolympiad@gmail.com. This should be submitted at the same time you submit the Part 2 online proposal, and it is also due on or before December 15, 2012. The PDF file should be named using the following information: State_SchoolName_StudentLeaderLastName_app.pdf (example: NJ_AHS_Smith_app.pdf for the appendices submitted by student leader with last name Smith from Anytown High School in NJ). Be sure to identify your school, school location, assigned Regional SO number, study team leader and SO coach in the body of the email.

A copy of your adaptation of the informed consent script/form you will administer during your study, based on the template provided.
A copy of your draft survey that includes no more than 15 questions. The survey format should be user-friendly and clear in presenting questions and answer options and instructions. Additional questions about other variables besides those relating to the exposure and outcome of interest that are appropriate and justifiable may be included.
Certificates for the “Protecting Human Research Participants” training for each member of the team. If members of your team participated in the Epi Challenge event in the past, student must retake and submit Protecting Human Research Participants training form this year.
Documentation from your School that your participation in this event has been approved by your school district.

This is the end of your Part 2 proposal submission for the Regional SO competition. The event judges will carefully review your proposal and all appendices and you will be given a rank that will contribute to your Regional SO school score. Do NOT begin data collection activities until you receive your ranking and comments from the SO judges and you know your team has qualified for the NJ SO Finals to be held on March 12, 2013.

Informed Consent Script and Protection of Human Subjects Issues

Adapt the Epi Challenge Informed Consent Script below to make it specific to the set of circumstance under which you plan to test your hypothesis. Note that informed consent may be administered by reading it to the students or asking the students to read it themselves. Students should NOT sign this informed consent.

Think Like an Epidemiologist Challenge

Informed Consent Script

My name is _________ and I am participating in the Science Olympiad Think Like an Epidemiologist Challenge trial event.

We would like to ask you some question regarding _________ (insert exposure and outcome).

This is simulation of an epidemiological investigation that is being carried out for educational purposes only. It is not an actual study from which generalizations will be made.

To conduct this study, I would like you to consider completing a brief survey. It has _____ questions and will take approximately _____ minutes to complete.

If there are any risks assumed by participating, they are no greater than those you encounter in daily life. There are no benefits to you for participating and there is no compensation.

Your answers will be handled anonymously to protect your privacy. You will not write your name on the survey. All surveys and any grouped data that are generated will be destroyed at the end of the SO event.

The study team wants you to know that your participation is voluntary and that you can stop participating at any time without consequence. You can refuse to participate now; you can change your mind after starting to participate; or, after completing the survey, you can decide not to submit it.

Do you have any questions?

Would you like to participate?

Additional guidance regarding protection of human subjects:

There are some important issues related to the protection of human subjects in epidemiologic research. We ask that each of you review your plans to obtain informed consent and to protect the rights of those individuals who you approach to participate in your research:

1. You must use the Human Subjects Informed Consent script provided for this completion.

2. Be sure that when you ask for the consent of potential study participants that you do not identify participants and non-participants. For example, asking people to raise their hands if they wish to participate is not appropriate, since this identifies non-participants as well. In addition, this may be considered coercive because it may embarrass people into participating. Individuals must feel comfortable choosing NOT to participate or to change their minds once they begin the survey. As such, non-participants should not be singled out in any way.

3. Do not use exclusion criteria, unless it is based on responses to particular non-sensitive survey questions (e.g. if you wish to exclude those who drink coffee from your study, you may ask a question about coffee consumption on your survey and then choose only to analyze those who do not drink coffee). In other words, avoid excluding students during the phase when you are approaching students and obtaining their consent to participate, since such action would single out certain students and could result in failure to protect their anonymity.

4. Be sure that respondents DO NOT put their names or other identifying information on either the informed consent form or the survey, since this is a way that participants can be identified. This data collection activity is meant to be “totally” anonymous, not just confidential. Student participants can simply be reminded not to fill in more than one survey, to avoid duplication.

5. Since data should be collected anonymously, person-to- person interviews should not be used in your study.

6. If a school’s email system is used to contact students and collect data, students’ responses should not be linked in any way to the students.

7. Questions about a person’s health history, including allergies, medical conditions, medications taken, and body weight, should not be on these surveys. You may not ask questions about a personal’s health or health history.

8. Students should not be able to be identified based on their responses, for example race/ethnicity. Therefore do not ask about race/ethnicity.

Poster Preparation and Presentation

At the State Finals on March 12, 2013, your four-student SO team will respond to questions from individual SO judges as they circulate around the poster session room. Judges will engage the presenters with questions and discussion. Poster presentations and scoring will take place during one or more morning sessions at the State Finals. At least two members of your team must be present to respond to questions during each of the morning sessions. The purpose of your poster is to compliment and facilitate your presentations and conversations with the SO judges. Note: Posters should be brought to the poster session venue no later than 8 AM.

Posters should be organized using the following 4 major headings:

Introduction (include the HYPOTHESIS and JUSTIFICATION for the study.)
Methods (include description of STUDY VARIABLES AND SURVEY QUESTIONS, STUDY DESIGN, SOURCE POPULATION, STUDY SAMPLE, RECRUITMENT AND INFORMED CONSENT and DATA COLLECTION AND DATA MANAGEMENT. List analysis methods used.)
Results (include CONTINGENCY TABLE(s), PREVALENCE and PREVALENCE COMPARISONS.)
Discussion (Indicate whether or not your data support your hypothesis. Include interpretation of study findings, discussion of STUDY LIMITATIONS and STUDY STRENGTHS.)

Be sure to include the following at the top of your poster: 1) title of poster; 2) school name; and 3) names of students on your team.

Your Poster elements and your responses to the judges’ questions will be evaluated according to the following rubric:

Poster Elements and Responses to the Judges’ Questions Exceed Expectations		Poster Elements and Responses to the Judges’ Questions Meet Expectations		Poster Elements and Responses to the Judges’ Questions Fail to Meet Expectations
Poster elements and responses to the judges’ questions are complete, thoughtful, and intellectually rigorous. Justifications are insightful and persuasive. Everything that is stated is correct and needed. Poster elements and responses to the judges’ questions demonstrate a good understanding of epidemiological concepts.		Poster elements and responses to the judges’ questions are complete but do not provide evidence of intellectual rigor. Justifications are correct, but are not entirely persuasive. While everything that is stated is correct and there are no serious misunderstandings of any epidemiological concepts, some information is provided which is not relevant.		Poster elements and responses to the judges’ questions are incomplete, naïve, and/or superficial. Justifications are weak. There are incorrect and/or superfluous statements. There are misunderstandings of key epidemiological concepts.

During the morning session, the judges will be interested in exploring your study design as well as your study findings. You should be prepared to answer questions about your epidemiologic study, including but not limited to the following questions:

How well did your study design and methods test your hypothesis?
How well did you follow the study design and methods described in your original proposal?
If you made any changes, on what basis do you justify them?
How did you analyze your data?
What can your data tell you about your hypothesis?
What can’t your data tell you about your hypothesis?
If you were going to test your hypothesis again, how would you change your approach?

Your poster must be displayed on a standard size, 48 x 36 inch, tri-fold, white corrugated display board that is available at most office supply stores.

IMPORTANT: You must submit your poster slides via email prior to the NJ State SO Final competition, so that the judges have an opportunity to read and score your poster and prepare questions for the morning sessions. Separate PowerPoint slides may be sent for each individual panel of your poster, or one large PowerPoint slide may be submitted by email which you will enlarge, so that it can be placed on a 48 x 36 inch poster. Email the electronic version of your poster to epichallenge.scienceolympiad@gmail.com no later than March 1, 2013. The electronic version of your poster file should be named using the following information: State_SchoolName_StudentLeaderLastName_poster.ppt (example: NJ_AHS_Smith_poster.pdf for the PowerPoint slides submitted by student leader with last name Smith from Anytown High School in NJ). Be sure to identify your school, school location, your school’s assigned State finals number, study team leader, and SO coach in the body of the email used to transmit the PowerPoint file.

Debriefing Meeting

On the day of the State Finals, March 12, 2013, all team members who do not have a conflict with another event are required to attend a debriefing meeting during an afternoon session to discuss their experiences “doing” epidemiology with the epidemiologist judges and to provide feedback about the Epi Challenge event.