Biostatistics for the Health Sciences [Paperback]

R. Clifford Blair (Author), Richard Taylor (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0131176609 | ISBN-13: 978-0131176607 | Publication Date: January 14, 2007 | Edition: 1

This book provides a solid foundation in introductory biostatistics with up-to-date methods, lucid explanations, and a modern approach. Explains commonly used biostatistical methods, such as odds and risk ratios, and Fisher's exact test, in a clear and thorough manner. Introduces equivalence testing in a variety of research settings. Presents nonparametric methods in a modern light, couched in the broader context of permutation-based methods. Provides real-world data with case studies consisting of synopses of published research. Provides step-by-step solutions to exercises, along with pertinent equations used in obtaining the solution and page numbers of relevant discussions. For health science students and professionals who need to increase their understanding of biostatistics.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Clifford (Cliff) Blair is Professor Emeritus and former interim chair of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics in the College of Public Health at the University of South Florida. He has also held faculty positions in the Colleges of Medicine and Education at the same university. He was coordinator of Measurement and Research at The Johns Hopkins University. He is author or co-author of 70 articles appearing in refereed journals of which 44 appeared in statistics or statistics related journals, 21 in medical research journals (including The New England Journal of Medicine), and five in other research oriented journals. He has authored two book chapters. He received the Public Health Student Association Distinguished Teacher Award in the academic year 1995-1996 and again in 1998-1999. He also received the University of South Florida Teaching Incentive Program Outstanding Teacher Award in 1996-1997. His research earned him the Distinguished Researcher Award, presented by the Florida Educational Research Association in 1986.

 

Dr. Richard A. Taylor, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Coordinating Office for Terrorism Preparedness and Emergency Response

Product Details

• Paperback: 552 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall; 1 edition (January 14, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0131176609
• ISBN-13: 978-0131176607
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 8.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #86,915 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #41 in Books > Medical Books > Basic Sciences > Biostatistics

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Textbook, With Some Reservations, July 21, 2007

By 

Jason L. Simms (Tampa, FL) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Biostatistics for the Health Sciences (Paperback)

I have used other biostatistics texts before, and this is indeed one of the better ones. Generally, the explanations are clear and easy to follow, but not always. Sometimes, the author will go into far too much detail and risks losing all but the most capable students under a mountain of excessive information for an intro textbook.

Other times, the example calculations will not match up with the instructions given. For example, when doing a two-tailed test and testing for significance, you can either double the obtained p-value OR halve the critical p-value. In some cases, the author will explain a given test and discuss halving the critical p-value, but then in example calculations will double the obtained p-value without comment. This is a small example, but this type of thing happens all the time.

The appendices are excellent. For instance, the author provides both "sides" of the area under the normal curve (Z-scores and p-values) for a given half, whereas most authors require you to solve .5-n to get the other part. Again, this sounds minor, but it is a help and a timesaver. I also like how all the equations are set off in boxes, and the author does a fine job of immediately explaining what variables are what.

All in all, I like this book. I wish it left out some amount of what I consider to be excessive detail, and I also wish that all the example calculations were consistent with the instructions given. But otherwise, great book!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Clear, June 9, 2007

By 

Stephen Williamson "Tampa Occ Doc" (Little Rock, AR United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Biostatistics for the Health Sciences (Paperback)

I am not good at statistics, but I find this text to be clear, even for me. It has also served well as a reference.

5.0 out of 5 stars Good basic stix book -- excellent examples, June 19, 2009

By 

Daniel A. Tomandl (Kirkland, Washington) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Biostatistics for the Health Sciences (Paperback)

I used this book in a 200 level Biostat course. I liked the biology slant -- all the health science applications. I especially appreciated the thorough explanations and many complete examples -- even the answers to the odd numbered problems in the back of the book are completely worked out (as opposed to just giving the answers).