INTRODUCTION TO BIOSTATISTICS AND RESEARCH METHODS

Book excerpt: The last decade has produced many textbooks on Biostatistics, with varying emphasis and degrees of mathematical complexity. This book has stood the test of time and continues to enjoy wide acceptance among students of all health and allied professions, other students and even qualified health investigators, who find it practical, simple and yet precise. This fully updated and thoroughly revised Fifth Edition, while retaining the fundamental concepts, acquaints the reader with the advances in the subject. The book explains the concepts involved in arriving at the sample size and also a quick solution to the estimation of sample size. Survival analysis and log-rank test are illustrated with examples. The essentials of Chi square tests are simplified and presented. Two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) is explained with two examples, with and without interaction term. The chapters on Research Methods, Interventional Studies and Observational Studies provide step-by-step guide to plan and carry out quality research. Questions given in each chapter will help the learner to gauge the level of understanding of the principles and applications. Clues to the use of computer packages are provided whenever necessary. Intended for undergraduate and postgraduate medical students as well as for nursing and paramedical students, the book will also be immensely useful to medical/health faculty and researchers in the field of Biostatistics. KEY FEATURES : A new chapter on Sample Size Determination Several new sections Extensive revision of practically all chapters Provision of new examples Chapter-end exercises