Medical Statistics From A To Z

From 'Abcissa' to 'Zygosity determination' - this accessible introduction to the terminology of medical statistics describes more than 1500 terms all clearly explained, illustrated and defined in non-technical language, without any mathematical formulae! With the majority of terms revised and updated and the addition of more than 100 brand new definitions, this new edition will enable medical students to quickly grasp the meaning of any of the statistical terms they encounter when reading the medical literature. Furthermore, annotated comments are used judiciously to warn the unwary of some of the common pitfalls that accompany some cherished biomedical statistical techniques. Wherever possible, the definitions are supplemented with a reference to further reading where the reader may gain a deeper insight, so whilst the definitions are easily disgestible, they also provide a stepping stone to a more sophisticated comprehension. Statistical terminology can be quite bewildering for clinicians: this guide will be a lifesaver.

Succinctly explains statistical terms encountered in medicine using non-technical language, giving advice on common pitfalls in techniques.

This invaluable, jargon-free guide to essential medical terminology in an accessible A-Z format is ideal for medical, allied health and biomedical science students and researchers, clinicians and health care practitioners. Avoiding the complex language that is so often a feature of statistics and research methodology, this text provides clear and succinct explanations, clarifying meaning and showing the interdependencies between important concepts. This edition includes enhanced explanations of statistical concepts and methods—including more illustrative content—for greater accessibility. The book makes frequent use of examples from the medical literature, with reference to landmark studies, ensuring clinical relevance. It remains an ideal aid to accompany the reading and critical appraisal of medical and health care literature, now widely recognized to be a practical lifelong skill required by all health professionals throughout undergraduate and postgraduate studies and during clinical practice.

An accessible non-technical introduction to the terminology of medical statistics.

The get-it-over-with-quickly approach to statistics has been encouraged - and often necessitated - by the short time allotted to it in most curriculums. If included at all, statistics is presented briefly, as a task to be endured mainly because pertinent questions may appear in subsequent examinations for licensure or other certifications. However, in later professional activities, clinicians and biomedical researchers will constantly be confronted with reports containing statistical expressions and analyses. Not just a set of cookbook recipes, Principles of Medical Statistics is designed to get you thinking about data and statistical procedures. It covers many new statistical methods and approaches like box plots, stem and leaf plots, concepts of stability, the bootstrap, and the jackknife methods of resampling. The book is arranged in a logical sequence that advances from simple to more elaborate results. The text describes all the conventional statistical procedures, and offers reasonably rigorous accounts of many of their mathematical justifications. Although the conventional mathematical principles are given a respectful account, the book provides a distinctly clinical orientation with examples and teaching exercises drawn from real world medical phenomena. Statistical procedures are an integral part of the basic background needed by biomedical researchers, students, and clinicians. Containing much more than most elementary texts, Principles of Medical Statistics fills the gap often found in the current curriculum. It repairs the imbalance that gives so little attention to the role of statistics as a prime component of basic biomedical education.

Statistics is confusing, even for smart, technically competent people. And many students and professionals find that existing books and web resources don’t give them an intuitive understanding of confusing statistical concepts. That is why this book is needed. Some of the unique qualities of this book are: • Easy to Understand: Uses unique “graphics that teach” such as concept flow diagrams, compare-and-contrast tables, and even cartoons to enhance “rememberability.” • Easy to Use: Alphabetically arranged, like a mini-encyclopedia, for easy lookup on the job, while studying, or during an open-book exam. • Wider Scope: Covers Statistics I and Statistics II and Six Sigma Black Belt, adding such topics as control charts and statistical process control, process capability analysis, and design of experiments. As a result, this book will be useful for business professionals and industrial engineers in addition to students and professionals in the social and physical sciences. In addition, each of the 60+ concepts is covered in one or more articles. The 75 articles in the book are usually 5–7 pages long, ensuring that things are presented in “bite-sized chunks.” The first page of each article typically lists five “Keys to Understanding” which tell the reader everything they need to know on one page. This book also contains an article on “Which Statistical Tool to Use to Solve Some Common Problems”, additional “Which to Use When” articles on Control Charts, Distributions, and Charts/Graphs/Plots, as well as articles explaining how different concepts work together (e.g., how Alpha, p, Critical Value, and Test Statistic interrelate). ANDREW A. JAWLIK received his B.S. in Mathematics and his M.S. in Mathematics and Computer Science from the University of Michigan. He held jobs with IBM in marketing, sales, finance, and information technology, as well as a position as Process Executive. In these jobs, he learned how to communicate difficult technical concepts in easy - to - understand terms. He completed Lean Six Sigma Black Belt coursework at the IASSC - accredited Pyzdek Institute. In order to understand the confusing statistics involved, he wrote explanations in his own words and graphics. Using this material, he passed the certification exam with a perfect score. Those statistical explanations then became the starting point for this book.

Statistical methodology is of great importance to medical research and clinical practice. The Encyclopaedic Companion to Medical Statistics contains readable accounts of the key topics central to current research and practice. Each entry has been written by an individual chosen for both their expertise in the field and their ability to communicate statistical concepts successfully to medical researchers. Real examples from the biomedical literature and relevant illustrations feature in many entries and extensive cross–referencing signposts the reader to related entries. Key Features: Contains accounts of over 400 statistical topics central to current medical research. 80% of first edition entries updated and revised. Presents the latest techniques used at the cutting edge of medical research. Covers common errors in statistical analyses in medicine. Real examples from the biomedical literature and relevant illustrations feature throughout. Contains contributions from over 70 experts in the field. Medical researchers, researchers and practitioners in medical research and statistics will benefit greatly from this book.

Do you want to know what a parametric test is and when not to perform one? Do you get confused between odds ratios and relative risks? Want to understand the difference between sensitivity and specificity? Would like to find out what the fuss is about Bayes' theorem? Then this book is for you! Physicians need to understand the principles behind medical statistics. They don't need to learn the formula. The software knows it already! This book explains the fundamental concepts of medical statistics so that the learner will become confident in performing the most commonly used statistical tests. Each chapter is rich in anecdotes, illustrations, questions, and answers. Not enough? There is more material online with links to free statistical software, webpages, multimedia content, a practice dataset to get hands-on with data analysis, and a Single Best Answer questionnaire for the exam.