Course: Sample Size Justification and Power Analysis (v2026.2)

• Title: Sample Size Justification and Statistical Power Analysis (v2026.2)

• Instructors: Filip Andras, David López García, David Sánchez Casasola

• Format: In person

• Available places: 25

• Duration: 12 hours across 3 sessions

• Dates: 26, 27 and 28 May

• Location: Seminar Room 4, Mind, Brain and Behaviour Research Centre (CIMCYC)

• Requirements: Basic knowledge of statistics (variance, significance, p-value, distributions, statistical power, effect size)

Description and Contents

Collecting data can be costly and time-consuming, so it is important to plan how much data we need before starting a study. In this course we will learn the fundamental concepts for carrying out power analyses correctly and for justifying the sample size in different situations.

We will review different types of power analysis, how to plan sample sizes to detect or rule out relevant effects, and how to make decisions based on the precision of the estimates and on the control of statistical errors.

We will also look at practical examples with data simulations, explore free tools for calculating sample size, and discuss real-world cases. In addition, we will reserve a dedicated space for questions and problem-solving, with the goal that you can apply what you have learned to your own project or research context.

Schedule

Resources and Materials

Required software

R and RStudio

R is a free programming language and statistical environment, widely used in scientific research for data analysis, statistical modelling, graphics, multivariate analysis and more. RStudio is an integrated development environment (IDE) for R that offers a user-friendly interface — with a code editor, console, package management, results visualisation and support for generating reproducible reports with R Markdown — which makes working with R much easier.

Where to download:

• For R: from the official R project website, choosing the appropriate installer for your operating system (Windows, macOS or Linux).
• For RStudio: from its official downloads page, selecting the "Desktop" version appropriate for your operating system.

G*Power

G*Power is a free program — available for Windows and macOS — for calculating statistical power and estimating the required sample size. It supports a wide variety of statistical tests, effect size calculations and the creation of power curves or graphs, which makes it especially useful in the design of empirical studies.

Where to download:

• On the program's official website you will find the versions available for Windows and macOS.

Course materials

Theory sessions:

• Part one (PDF)
• Part two (PDF)
• Part three (PDF)

Practical sessions:

• Simulations in R with worked exercises

Registration

Registration will open in December 2025 and must be completed through the following registration form. It is important that the registration form be filled out accurately, since, if the number of applications exceeds the number of places, the information provided by the applicant will be taken into account when allocating places.

Certificate Request

Once the course has been completed and attendance has been verified, a certificate of participation in the course may be requested through the following form.

Note: The personal data entered must be correct, as it will be used to generate the certificates.

This activity is part of grant CEX2023-001312-M, funded by MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and grant UCE-PP2023-11 funded by University of Granada.