Introduction to Statistics for Nurses

Book excerpt: Take the fear out of statistics with this straightforward, practical and applied book on the how and why of using statistics. Introduction to Statistics for Nurses is an essential introductory text for all nursing students coming to statistics for the first time. The nursing profession involves the use of statistics every day, for example in the cases of mortality rates, average life expectancies, percentage recovery rates, average remission times, and the findings of which drugs work best with which illnesses. In fact, all of the policies that surround this job, the treatment strategies, and all the facts described above are derived from the use of statistics. This book will help students to understand the use of statistics in nursing literature, and shows how to use statistics effectively in answering research questions. Case studies throughout show how statistics are applied in nursing research and frequent exercises help to test the reader's knowledge as they progress.