Disease Detectives B/C

[Rossyspsce]

I always seem to get like below half in the rankings for this event. I feel like my cheat sheet has everything. I dont know what I am doing wrong. I also feel like I need help with calculations. Can anyone provide notes on calculations? Thanks

Grind a big amount of tests, for me it was at least 1 a day. Do each test as if it's a competition, 50 minutes, but do it solo. After check to see what you missed, and if you are missing something add it to your notes. Rinse, Wash, Repeat

[jimmy-bond]

I always seem to get like below half in the rankings for this event. I feel like my cheat sheet has everything. I dont know what I am doing wrong. I also feel like I need help with calculations. Can anyone provide notes on calculations? Thanks

I know for calculations in particular, birdmusic has a very helpful section in her ssss disease notes that covers the most common calculations.

[Birdmusic]

I always seem to get like below half in the rankings for this event. I feel like my cheat sheet has everything. I dont know what I am doing wrong. I also feel like I need help with calculations. Can anyone provide notes on calculations? Thanks

Calculations:
One of the biggest mistakes with calculations is having the wrong study type and therefore making the wrong calculations. Learn some more about cohort (which uses risk ratio/relative risk) and case-control (which uses odds ratio), and when to apply them from the WHO textbook (on soinc, chapter 3) or other places online. Also, check your odds ratio formula on your cheat sheet, it's a small thing, but I had the wrong formula on my cheat sheet for half a year once. (caught before regionals tho, so that was good)

Make sure you understand the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value equations, and their differences. It's really easy to confuse them.

There's a chapter (3) in the CDC textbook on difference calculations, have them somewhere just in case.

Other:
If you have any leftover space on your cheat sheet, fill it with diseases. If you go to a competition where parents write the tests (Regionals), they will probably write a ton of really random diseases that don't have anything to do with current epidemiology onto their test. If you don't have space, at lease have measles, Ebola, and e. Coli on there. (large recent/ongoing epidemics)

Make sure you understand the 13/10 steps to investigating an outbreak, not just have it copied on your notes. Really read the textbook (6 in CDC) about the steps and what each looks like.

Print a glossary (or 2!) a week before the competition and memorize everything on there that is not on your notes.

If you can tell me your division, I can go into more details for you on PM, hope this helps!

[Tailsfan101]

Is it relevant to study more advanced math like ANOVA and Chi-squares in Disease Detectives B?

[Birdmusic]

Is it relevant to study more advanced math like ANOVA and Chi-squares in Disease Detectives B?

I think actual math is not important, just the theory behind it (i.e. what does p-value and z-value mean and how to interpret them) and even then I've never encountered them in regionals, states, or on past Div B Nats tests from the test packets. (also I think ESs know middle school people don't usually do stats and expecting them to be able to is kind of ridiculous)

[Benewcomb]

hey how many pages of notes do we get for state?
thx!

[Unome]

hey how many pages of notes do we get for state?
thx!

I don't believe IN's modifications apply to the state tournament, only to regionals (going off of vague memory here).

[UTF-8 U+6211 U+662F]

hey how many pages of notes do we get for state?
thx!

I don't believe IN's modifications apply to the state tournament, only to regionals (going off of vague memory here).

To add to this, the national rules are one sheet, front and back

[Benewcomb]

hey how many pages of notes do we get for state?
thx!

I don't believe IN's modifications apply to the state tournament, only to regionals (going off of vague memory here).

To add to this, the national rules are one sheet, front and back

thak you so much!

[404ic]

Hi everyone,

I was assigned DD for state after regionals and I've never done the event before. I see an abundance of resources in this forum and it's slightly overwhelming. Does anyone have any tips on where to begin (besides the wiki)?

Thanks,
me