A hands-on workshop on statistical analysis using SPSS23 was organized by the Department of Pharmacy Practice, Amrita School of Pharmacy, Kochi, from May 25-26, 2017.

Day One – May 25, 2017

An experienced team of statisticians including the nation’s top statistician Dr. K. R. Sundaram (Department of Biostatistics, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences – AIMS, Kochi) guided the two-day workshop. The workshop commenced on an auspicious note by seeking Amma’s blessings. Chief Guest of the day, Dr. Shantikumar Nair (Dean Research, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham), inaugurated the workshop by lighting the inaugural lamp and delivering the inaugural address. Dr. Sabitha M. (Principal, School of Pharmacy) elaborated on the need for this workshop and publishing quality publications.

The first session was a presentation by Ms. Anu Vasudevan (Lecturer, Department of Biostatistics, AIMS). She gave a clear picture of the basics of statistics which were absolutely essential for efficiently using SPSS software. She explained concepts with simple examples which helped in easy learning.

The session adjourned for a short tea break. The next session was handled by Dr. Senthilvel (Assistant Professor, Department of Biostatistics, AIMS). He covered the topic, correlation and regression with interesting daily life examples. He kept everyone enthusiastic by testing the participant’s interest in the subject.

The afternoon session by Dr. Sundaram, was very interesting, wherein he shared his experience of working in India’s top institutes such as ICMR and All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. He kept all at ease through his examples after which the practical sessions commenced. Mr. Unnikrishnan and Ms. Anu, Lecturers and two students from their team went around to everyone and explained step by step on how to operate the SPSS software. They had with them biostatistical real-life problems that the participants were asked to solve.

Day one ended with the practical class.

Day Two – May 26, 2017

Day two of the workshop saw the participants eagerly waiting for Dr. Sundaram’s class. The way in which he kept everyone interested from the beginning to the end is really something to be mentioned.  He explained in detail the importance of sample size determination prior to conducting any research. His lecture and sharing of his experiences in life made the talk informative and useful. He then kept the panel open for discussion. Students asked questions freely and sir took his time to patiently answer each and every one. Dr. Sundaram’s lecture was followed by that of Mr. Unnikrishnan’s and he further gave an insight into the types of sampling methods used for sample size determination.

As in the previous day, the afternoon session comprised of the practical class where all faced tougher problems that had to be worked out on the SPSS software.  After two days of long brain wracking sessions, the hands-on workshop came to a close.

The workshop was brilliantly organized and was a grand success. Teachers and students thanked the team of experts and shared their feedback. Principal, Dr. Sabitha M. gave certificates to Dr. Sundaram and his team as a token of gratitude. Dr. Sundaram distributed certificates to all the attendees.