Biostatistics and Epidemiology: A Primer for Health Professionals - Softcover

SYLVIA WASSERTHEIL SMOLLER

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0387943889 ISBN 13: 9780387943886

Publisher: Springer, 1995

Synopsis

Biostatistics and Epidemiology: A Primer for Health Professionals focuses on the underlying framework of the field and offers practical guidelines for research and interpretation. In addition to major sections devoted to statistics and epidemiology, the book includes a comprehensive exploration of the scientific method, probability, and clinical trials. New to the second edition are: -a reorganization of the material -new information on survival analysis such as the Cox proportional hazards model -topics in nonparametric statistics -expanded discussion of probability and its applications in epidemiology -an entirely new chapter on areas relevant to behavioral research and change scores, reliability, validity, and responsiveness -new appendices providing specific and clear instructions on how to carry out several additional statistical calculations and tests Biostatistics and Epidemiology describes principles and methods applicable to medicine, public health, allied health, psychology and education and will be useful not only to physicians doing clinical as well as basic science research, but also to students at undergraduate, graduate and medical school levels.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

 

Since the publication of the first edition, BIOSTATISTICS AND EPIDEMIOLOGY has continued to garner loyal readers from across speciality areas in the biomedical community. BIOSTATISTICS AND EPIDEMIOLOGY provides clear, concise explanations of the underlying principles of statistics and epidemiology, as well as practical guidelines of "how to do it" and "how to interpret it."

Through its several editions, BIOSTATISTICS AND EPIDEMIOLOGY has continued to adapt to evolving areas of research in epidemiology and statistics, while maintaining the original objective of being non-threatening, understandable and accessible to those with limited or no background in mathematics. Two new areas are covered in the third edition: genetic epidemiology and research ethics.

With the sequencing of the human genome, there has been a flowering of research into the genetic basis of health and disease, and especially the interactions between genes and environmental exposures. The medical literature in genetic epidemiology is vastly expanding and some knowledge of the epidemiological designs and an acquaintance with the statistical methods used in such research is necessary in order to be able to appreciate new findings. Thus this edition includes a new chapter on genetic epidemiology as well as an Appendix describing the basics necessary for an understanding of genetic research. Such material is not usually found in first level epidemiology or statistics books, but it is presented here in a basic, and hopefully easily comprehensible way, for those unfamiliar with the field. The second new chapter is on research ethics, also not usually covered in basic textbooks, but critically important in all human research . New material has also been added to several existing chapters.

I hope this book will be useful to diverse groups of people in the health field, as well as to those in related areas. The material is intended for (1) physicians doing clinical research as well as for those doing basic research; (2) for students-medical, college, and graduate; (3) for research staff in various capacities; and (4) for anyone interested in the logic and methodology of biostatistics and epidemiology. The principles and methods described here are applicable to various substantive areas, including medicine, public health, psychology, and education. (from the Preface)

Whether used as a brief textbook in a classroom or as a refresher for more advanced readers, BIOSTATISTICS AND EPIDEMIOLOGY has become a well-thumbed and battered resource in many a classroom, department library and lab. With the explosion of biomedical research and publishing in the past few years, understanding the statistical validity of the results of both basic research and clinical trials has never been more important. This new third edition of BIOSTATISTICS AND EPIDEMIOLOGY serves as the roadmap to understanding these complex and important topics.

Review:

From the reviews:

"You really do not need any previous experience ... can acquire the basic statistical skills in a relatively short time. ... The book not only addresses statistics but also engages readers into scientific thinking ... . A detailed index is also included. Overall, the book is well written and would be good reading for ... . Applied statisticians and medical practitioners would also benefit from this book. Libraries should have a copy ... . an excellent reference for undergraduate biostatistics and epidemiology courses." (Isaac Dialsingh, Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, (168) 1, 2004)

About this edition

• Publisher: Springer
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 0387943889
• ISBN 13: 9780387943886
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 185