Statistical Methods for Longitudinal Data and Meta-Analysis

我工作的一个方面是开发统计方法来分析来自英国卵巢癌筛查合作试验（UKCTOCS）的数据。这项试验的数据包括来自每位参与者的最多六组年度问卷。问卷调查评估焦虑，性功能和筛选过程的可接受性。我将模拟这三个过程如何随时间变化，以及它们如何相互依赖。有几种方法可以分析这类数据，我将探讨三种不同方法的优缺点。这项工作的挑战在于UKCTOCS数据集的复杂性。我也将使用其中的一些方法来分析来自MRC认知功能和衰老研究的数据。我工作的第二个方面是开发用于荟萃分析的方法。荟萃分析是指汇集来自不同研究的数据，并用于提供可用证据的概述。我将研究对由事件发生时间组成的数据进行荟萃分析的方法。我还将探讨治疗“网络”的荟萃分析，调查一组治疗对给定条件的相对影响。

One aspect of my work is to develop statistical methods to analyse data from the UK Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening (UKCTOCS). Data from this trial consists of up to six annual sets of questionnaires from each participant. The questionnaires assess anxiety, sexual function and acceptability of the screening process. I will model how these three processes change over time, and how they depend on one another. There are several approaches to analysing this type of data, and I will explore the pros and cons of three different methods. The challenge in this work lies in the complexity of the UKCTOCS data-set. I will also use some of these methods to analyse data from the MRC Cognitive Function and Ageing Study.A second aspect of my work is to develop methods for use in meta-analysis. Meta-analysis refers to the pooling of data from different studies, and is used to provide an overview of the available evidence. I will investigate methods for the meta-analysis of data which consists of times to events. I will also explore the meta-analysis of treatment `networks', investigating the relative effects of a set of treatments for a given condition.