An observational study is an empirical investigation of the effects of treatments, policies, or exposures. It differes from an experiment in that the investigator cannot control the assignments of treatments to subjects. Scientists across a wide range of disciplines undertake such studies, and the aim of this book is to provide a sound statistical account of the principles and methods for the design and analysis of observational studies. Readers are assumed to have a working knowledge of basic probability and statistics, but otherwise the account is reasonably self-contained. Throughout there are extended discussions of actual observational studies to illustrate the ideas discussed. These are drawn from topics as diverse as smoking and lung cancer, lead in children, nuclear weapons testing, and placement programs for students. As a result, many researchers involved in observational studes will find this an invaluable companion to their work.
"This second edition is about fifty percent larger than the original. The flavour is the same. The book provides a thoughtful discussion, at a mathematical and conceptual level, of what can and cannot be learned from observational studies."
ISI Short Book Reviews, Vol. 22/2, August 2002
From reviews of the First Edition:
"A fascinating book which combines elegant theory with good practical advice on applications, including in-depth discussion of many interesting examples from diverse fields."
Short Book Reviews of the International Statistical Institute
"Observational Studies" will be extremely useful to researchers and graduate students in the biomedical and social sciences... The book is well written in an area where clarity is difficult... It will set a new standard for the analysis of observational studies."
Journal of the American Statistical Association
"Rosenbaum's text does a great job of merging the theoretical with the practical, and provides a nice resource for a broad range of researchers... Consultants and field researchers, particularly in public health, will appreciate the examples and discussion of different research designs."
The American Statistician
"Generously dispersed throughout the volume are fundamentally important, but seldom explicitly recognized, insights about the logic of research design. Virtually any reader will find much of value in this book, especially concerning design issues."
Applied Psychological Measurement
"In summary, Observational Studies is an excellent book. It should be widely and carefully read."
Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics
