Analysis of Health Surveys (Wiley Series in Survey Methodology) [Hardcover]

Edward L. Korn (Author), Barry I. Graubard (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 12, 1999 | ISBN-10: 0471137731 | ISBN-13: 978-0471137733 | Edition: 1

How to apply statistical methods to survey data--a guide to effective analysis of health surveys.

With large health surveys becoming increasingly available for public use, researchers with little experience in survey methods are often faced with analyzing data from surveys to address scientific and programmatic questions. This practical book provides statistical techniques for use in survey analysis, making health surveys accessible to statisticians, biostatisticians, epidemiologists, and health researchers. The authors clearly explain the theory and methods of survey analysis along with real-world applications. They draw on their work at the National Institutes of Health as well as up-to-date information from across the literature to present:
* The sampling background necessary to understand health surveys.
* The application of such techniques as t-tests, linear regression, logistic regression, and survival analysis to survey data.
* The use of sample weights in survey data analysis.
* Dealing with complications in variance estimation in large health surveys.
* Applications involving cross-sectional, longitudinal, and multiple cross-sectional surveys, and the use of surveys to perform population- based case-control analyses.
* Guidance on the correct use of statistical methods found in software packages.
* Extensive bibliography.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The book fulfills the authors' purpose of providing needed expertise for statisticians who are limited in their knowledge of survey research. There are excellent questions at the end of each chapter so it would make a good textbook for a course in survey analysis. (Journal of Official Statistics, Vol. 16, 2000)

A strength of this book is the exercises at the ends of each chapter [...]. This makes the book ideal either for independent study or for a survey methods course at final year undergraduate or postgraduate level. Since the book is based on the two authors' many years of experience working in this field, it shows high levels of sound judgement and good advice. (Biometrics, 2000)

The analytic components of books about survey sampling often restrict their discussion to the analysis of relatively simple parameters of interest, such as population means and linear regression slopes. On the other hand, texts not devoted to survey sampling rarely discuss in detail the effect of complex sample designs on data analysis. This book provides a great service to the health research community by tying together the tools of modern statistical analysis and survey research in one package. Korn and Graubard write clearly and concisely, using well-chosen examples to illuminate potentially confusing concepts. (JASA, March 2001)

If you are involved in analyzing data from very large surveys, then you will want to buy this book. Statisticians who enjoy expanding their horizons in statistics by reading practical and useful statistics books should also get a copy of the book. More and more of this health-survey data becomes available all the time, so perhaps data analysis no longer needed in industry can find a new home somewhere analyzing health-survey data. (Technometrics, May 2001, Vol. 42, No. 4)

"...provides a great service to the health research community by tying together...tools of modern statistical analysis and survey research...." (Journal of the American Statistical Association)

From the Back Cover

How to apply statistical methods to survey data—a guide to effective analysis of health surveys.

With large health surveys becoming increasingly available for public use, researchers with little experience in survey methods are often faced with analyzing data from surveys to address scientific and programmatic questions. This practical book provides statistical techniques for use in survey analysis, making health surveys accessible to statisticians, biostatisticians, epidemiologists, and health researchers. The authors clearly explain the theory and methods of survey analysis along with real-world applications. They draw on their work at the National Institutes of Health as well as up-to-date information from across the literature to present:

• The sampling background necessary to understand health surveys.
• The application of such techniques as t-tests, linear regression, logistic regression, and survival analysis to survey data.
• The use of sample weights in survey data analysis.
• Dealing with complications in variance estimation in large health surveys.
• Applications involving cross-sectional, longitudinal, and multiple cross-sectional surveys, and the use of surveys to perform population- based case-control analyses.
• Guidance on the correct use of statistical methods found in software packages.
• Extensive bibliography.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 408 pages
• Publisher: Wiley-Interscience; 1 edition (August 12, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471137731
• ISBN-13: 978-0471137733
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #987,463 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent treatment of health surveys and applications, February 8, 2008

By 

Michael R. Chernick "statman31147" (Holland PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Analysis of Health Surveys (Wiley Series in Survey Methodology) (Hardcover)

Ed Korn and Barry Graubard are two statisticians in the health industry with strong statistical training. This is a very practical and specialized book which deals strictly with health surveys. Several national surveys are discussed. Many of the standard survey sampling topics including stratified random sampling and sampling proportional to size are covered. In addition modern ways for estimating variances including jackknife, balanced half-sample replication and bootstrap are covered. Beyond the standard topics there are topics in survival analysis that are included. Other practical issues such as weighted versus unweighted estimates and the use of imputation methods are included. They also include many exercises at the end of the chapters to make the book suitable for a course on the subject. Whole chapters are dedicated to interesting and unique topics such as "Analysis of Longitudinal Surveys", Chapter 7, "Analyses using Multiple Surveys", Chapter 8, and "Population-Based Case-Control Studies", Chapter 9. Appendix A gives detailed descriptions of the surveys analyzed in the book. It also contains a wealth of useful references from teh statistical literature. A good book for practitioners which does not require very high level mathematics.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Analysis of Health Surveys, June 2, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Analysis of Health Surveys (Wiley Series in Survey Methodology) (Hardcover)

This is a very good textbook. There is no complex mathematcis, and a lot of real examples and exercises can help readers to understand the materials covered in the book. But it is too simple if it is used as a professional reference. It tries to cover basic survey methodology, weighting, variance estimation, cross-sectional analyses, longitudinal surveys and case-control studies in only such a small book (less than 400 pages). Definately, it can not touch advanced parts of these areas. Anyway, it is very good for college students. You can learn a lot of very interesting ideas though this book even you do not have any knowledge about survey sampling and biostatistics.