UNCOVERING THE HIDDEN GEMS WITHIN YOUR DATASETS

Elevate's Medical Director Shares His Perspective

Every month, PM360 Magazine releases a thought leadership article where leaders in the pharmaceutical industry share their thoughts on the hard-pressing topics facing the industry. The November topic, Uncovering the Hidden Gems Within Your Datasets, featured Elevate’s very own David Marks, PhD, MSc, VP, Medical Director. In his response, Dave touches on the importance of data, how we use it, and the role it plays in pharma every single day.

“The axiom ‘Most people use statistics like a drunk man uses a lamp post; more for support than illumination’ is especially applicable in today’s era of nearly unlimited data,” says Dave. “Increasingly powerful computing and AI can explore the relationships between hundreds of thousands of variables simultaneously. However, correlation does not always equal causation between variables. A statistically significant association of 2 factors does not necessarily imply real-world applicability.”

With all the data at our fingertips, it is critical that it is used properly so that organizations can get the most out of it. For that to happen, Dave believes it’s all about the people who use it.

“Having people who are hypothesis-driven thinkers is the fundamental beginning of data analytics for marketing,” he explains. “People of this type will create some of the most innovative analytics and approaches to accept or reject propositions. To improve or even discover new analytical data metrics, begin with people who are hypothesis-driven.”

To see what the rest of Dave’s fellow industry leaders had to say on the matter, read the full article here.