Biostatistics and Epidemiology: A Primer for Health Professionals [Paperback]

Sylvia Wassertheil-Smoller (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0387943889 | ISBN-13: 978-0387943886 | Publication Date: June 13, 1995 | Edition: 2nd

Biostatistics and Epidemiology: A Primer for Health Professionals focuses on the underlying framework of the field and offers practical guidelines for research and interpretation. In addition to major sections devoted to statistics and epidemiology, the book includes a comprehensive exploration of the scientific method, probability, and clinical trials. New to the second edition are: -a reorganization of the material -new information on survival analysis such as the Cox proportional hazards model -topics in nonparametric statistics -expanded discussion of probability and its applications in epidemiology -an entirely new chapter on areas relevant to behavioral research and change scores, reliability, validity, and responsiveness -new appendices providing specific and clear instructions on how to carry out several additional statistical calculations and tests Biostatistics and Epidemiology describes principles and methods applicable to medicine, public health, allied health, psychology and education and will be useful not only to physicians doing clinical as well as basic science research, but also to students at undergraduate, graduate and medical school levels.

Editorial Reviews

Review

From the reviews:

"You really do not need any previous experience … can acquire the basic statistical skills in a relatively short time. … The book not only addresses statistics but also engages readers into scientific thinking … . A detailed index is also included. Overall, the book is well written and would be good reading for … . Applied statisticians and medical practitioners would also benefit from this book. Libraries should have a copy … . an excellent reference for undergraduate biostatistics and epidemiology courses." (Isaac Dialsingh, Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, (168) 1, 2004)

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From the Back Cover

 

Since the publication of the first edition, BIOSTATISTICS AND EPIDEMIOLOGY has continued to garner loyal readers from across speciality areas in the biomedical community. BIOSTATISTICS AND EPIDEMIOLOGY provides clear, concise explanations of the underlying principles of statistics and epidemiology, as well as practical guidelines of "how to do it" and "how to interpret it."

Through its several editions, BIOSTATISTICS AND EPIDEMIOLOGY has continued to adapt to evolving areas of research in epidemiology and statistics, while maintaining the original objective of being non-threatening, understandable and accessible to those with limited or no background in mathematics. Two new areas are covered in the third edition: genetic epidemiology and research ethics.

With the sequencing of the human genome, there has been a flowering of research into the genetic basis of health and disease, and especially the interactions between genes and environmental exposures. The medical literature in genetic epidemiology is vastly expanding and some knowledge of the epidemiological designs and an acquaintance with the statistical methods used in such research is necessary in order to be able to appreciate new findings. Thus this edition includes a new chapter on genetic epidemiology as well as an Appendix describing the basics necessary for an understanding of genetic research. Such material is not usually found in first level epidemiology or statistics books, but it is presented here in a basic, and hopefully easily comprehensible way, for those unfamiliar with the field. The second new chapter is on research ethics, also not usually covered in basic textbooks, but critically important in all human research . New material has also been added to several existing chapters.

I hope this book will be useful to diverse groups of people in the health field, as well as to those in related areas. The material is intended for (1) physicians doing clinical research as well as for those doing basic research; (2) for students-medical, college, and graduate; (3) for research staff in various capacities; and (4) for anyone interested in the logic and methodology of biostatistics and epidemiology. The principles and methods described here are applicable to various substantive areas, including medicine, public health, psychology, and education. (from the Preface)

Whether used as a brief textbook in a classroom or as a refresher for more advanced readers, BIOSTATISTICS AND EPIDEMIOLOGY has become a well-thumbed and battered resource in many a classroom, department library and lab. With the explosion of biomedical research and publishing in the past few years, understanding the statistical validity of the results of both basic research and clinical trials has never been more important. This new third edition of BIOSTATISTICS AND EPIDEMIOLOGY serves as the roadmap to understanding these complex and important topics.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 185 pages
• Publisher: Springer; 2nd edition (June 13, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0387943889
• ISBN-13: 978-0387943886
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,629,402 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Good as far as it goes, February 10, 2008

By 

Chance "naturedoc2002" (Western US) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Biostatistics and Epidemiology: A Primer for Health and Biomedical Professionals (Paperback)

Although billed as a 'primer for health & biomedical professionals', this book is actually too basic for that. Most in the field are not undergrads, and so need the more advanced statistical measuring methods explained more thoroughly (or, in some cases, at all). There is nothing about infective disease, so those measures are also lacking.

This book feels very disorganized, with little help from the index and contents. There are much better books of this type on the market - for example, Primer of Biostatistics by Stanton A. Glantz or even Epidemiology by Leon Gordis. I'd keep looking.

5.0 out of 5 stars A Primer, Not A Complete Treatment, November 5, 2011

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Rictus - See all my reviews

This review is from: Biostatistics and Epidemiology: A Primer for Health and Biomedical Professionals (Paperback)

I looked at several introductions on biostats before settling on this text. It is a truly excellent complement to more in-depth treatments you would get in an intensive biostats course, yet remains strong, well-organized and able to stand on its own by straddling that fine line between between being over-simplistic and over-technical. I think the previous review may have unfairly underestimated the book's usefulness by not treating it as what it was meant to be: a primer.