In optimal experimental design theory it is usually assumed that the response variable follows a normal distribution with constant variance. However, some works assume other probability distributions based on additional information or practitioner’s prior experience. The main goal of this paper is to study the effect, in terms of efficiency, when misspecification in the probability distribution of the response variable occurs. The elemental information matrix, which includes information on the probability distribution of the response variable, provides a generalized Fisher information matrix. This study is performed from a practical perspective, comparing a normal distribution with the Poisson or gamma distribution. First, analytical results are obtained, including results for the linear quadratic model, and these are applied to some real illustrative examples. The nonlinear 4-parameter Hill model is next considered to study the influence of misspecification in a dose-response model. This analysis shows the behavior of the efficiency of the designs obtained in the presence of misspecification, by assuming heteroscedastic normal distributions with respect to the D-optimal designs for the gamma, or Poisson, distribution, as the true one.
The rapid spread of the COVID-19 worldwide led to the migration of the traditional education system based on the face-to-face classroom into an improvised online system, among many other preventive measures. Thus, all teaching methods had to be adapted to this new modality. This work is aimed at studying the viability of the online teaching of the subject of Applied Statistics in Health Sciences in higher education based on the teaching experience lived during COVID-19. In addition to this, possible technological difficulties and COVID-19-derived problems were investigated. A retrospective observational cross-sectional study was performed to analyze the students’ satisfaction according to the teaching methodologies in both face-to-face and online modalities. An exploratory and inferential analysis revealed that online teaching is feasible for the subject under study, although face-to-face learning still continues to significantly revert in favor of the quality of teaching. Therefore, further research is required to develop new online teaching methods given the feasibility of the proposal found in this research. Most of the students reported not having technological learning difficulties, whether related to their connectivity or technological resources, which did not have a significative impact on their teaching perception. Despite the psychological sequalae of COVID-19, this did not affect the students’ teaching satisfaction.
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