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all I know so far is that you have to find out what disease and how it spreads. is that it?

whovian11 wrote:all I know so far is that you have to find out what disease and how it spreads. is that it?

The Disease Detectives page on the national website (https://www.soinc.org/disease_detectives_c) has handouts and powerpoints with many other concepts that I've seen frequently tested at tournaments. I recommend studying those carefully.

ok. thanks!

hi guys!!!!!!!
we're new to this event. do you have any tips for us??????
thx #scioly4life

hi guys!!!!!!!
we're new to this event. do you have any tips for us??????
thx #scioly4life

whovian11 wrote:all I know so far is that you have to find out what disease and how it spreads. is that it?

There is much more to it such as calculating odds ratios or relative risk. You also need to know many terms used in epidemiology and the history of how diseases were started and cured. I can't tell you everything as Disease Detectives is a very logic based event but these are some of the other basic things to know. Math is a key concept in it that helps calculate the effectivity of diseases and cured and what not. Have fun studying!

whovian11 wrote:is this event very hard, I've never done it before but am very interested.

It isn't very difficult. It just has many aspects to it. I suggest you start studying the basics such as modes of transmission and calculations of measures of risk, but from this being my third year I have began to notice that it is a very logical based event that also needs studying and a good cheat sheet. If you are a good problem solver and aren't afraid of using math and writing evidence backing your statement and such then this is for you.

Do we need to know the different sub-types of statistical tests (such as one-tail and two-tail Z-Tests)? I have Chi-square and One Sample Z-Test down, but the list seems endless.

QuantumTech wrote:Do we need to know the different sub-types of statistical tests (such as one-tail and two-tail Z-Tests)? I have Chi-square and One Sample Z-Test down, but the list seems endless.

The Statistic Overview on soinc.org (https://www.soinc.org/sites/default/fil ... CS_C_0.pdf) provides a great overview on the common stats tests you need to know, and based off that I don't think you'd need to go that in-depth. Correct me if I'm wrong

I understand that CDC is thinking of redesigning the Science Olympiad/Disease Detectives part of its website at http://www.cdc.gov/excite. It is not intended to compete with SciOly.org and is not likely to be very interactive but the prime target group is Science Olympiad Disease Detectives competitors and other students with an interest in epidemiology/public health. The new site will include new materials as well as links to existing resources. I wonder what sorts of things would be helpful to Disease Detectives competitors.