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Discussion for Disease Detectives B/C.

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Disease Detectives Test Exchange 2016

Statistics Handout posted on the national site, relevant for Division C competitors.

Are there any diseases that we should look out for on the test or are the questions based on the choice of the exam proctor?

I honestly do not know how to study for this!! Does anyone have tips or websites that they use. ( I don't know where to study from)

Rosie2 wrote:I honestly do not know how to study for this!! Does anyone have tips or websites that they use. ( I don't know where to study from)

Some students start with the training handout on the national website page for this event (https://www.soinc.org/disease_detectives_c). So you could start with "2015 Training Handout" and if you're in Division C, move on to the "2016 Statistics Handout." The powerpoint is almost exactly the training handout if I remember correctly so you can study from either; I prefer the training handout. And the 2016 training handout isn't available yet, but since the focus is the same as last year, last year's handout can be used (and even if the focus were different, a lot of the calculations and concepts remain the same over years). After studying these items, it'd probably be helpful to take some tests to see how well you understand the material, and you can find some in the Test Exchange.

We have little control over what is asked at the Regional and State competitions but I would suggest using Principles of Epidemiology 3rd edition (available free online from CDC) as a resource. We use it as the basis for our national competitions - those are the definitions, terms, principles, categories we follow. If it is covered in Principles of Epi then it is fair game. If it is not in Principles of Epi and it is not in rules (e.g., sources of error are not covered in Principles but they are laid out in the Div C rules), then we probably should not be asking about it or putting much weight on it if we do. You may also want to try the CDC Solve the Outbreak apps as tools. They have some good basic material. Don't be discouraged - it took most of us 2-3 exposures before we really started to understand it but once it clicked in - it was really neat.

How in depth should one be when studying for the competition. Must we know every single detail of our topic, or should we have an overall understanding? (First time here, thank you for any help). Is there a main topic to study this year as there are in other subjects?

How well you need to know the material depends on the level you are competing at and how well you expect to do. If you are competing in a regional middle school tournament and are satisfied with just not embarrassing yourself and your school too much - a perfunctory knowledge of the glossary in Principles of Epi and the formulas for odds ratio and relative risk should come close. On the other hand if you are a Division C team in the Nationals and looking to come to CDC then you had better know the Principles of Epi backwards and forwards, be familiar with the basic sources of error and be able to apply all of that knowledge to solve a problem dealing with a disease or condition you have never heard of.

I took the Advanced GREs in Biology years ago and was surprised to find that everything on the exam was in an Introductory Biology text. However the level of questioning required that I know it well and cold. Same idea here - not just with Disease Detectives but with most of the other study events and education in general.

I guess I would start with the basic rates - know what they are and how they are calculated, modes of transmission, different types of studies (case-control, cohort), steps to an outbreak investigation, sensitivity/specificity, criteria for causation. If you know these and can use them well - to the point you can read a scientific paper and see where they are used in the paper - then you have a good start

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