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Essentials Of Biostatistics In Public Health

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I studied introductory biostatistics with Lisa Sullivan. She possesses an incomparable ability to communicate complex ideas in a way that is accessible to novices and experienced students alike. She understands the difficulties and anxieties that poor math education has instilled in many students, and she is an expert at helping those students past their anxiety and onto a strong understanding of statistics.

I finally got my hands on a copy of this textbook, and Prof. Sullivan has managed to capture her teaching talents on paper. She makes great use of her experience with the Framingham Heart Study (www.framinghamheartstudy.org) and provides examples that illuminate the theoretical statistical concepts that can be so difficult for some to grasp in the abstract.

I have long recommended Prof. Sullivan's introductory biostatistics course to anyone at Boston University. For those of you who don't have the opportunity to study with her directly, this book will give you much of what you would otherwise miss.

A part of the outstanding 'Essential Public Health' series published by Jones & Bartlett Publishers, "Essentials Of Biostatistics In Public Health" by Lisa M. Sullivan (Chair, Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts) provides a basic and essential 232-page introduction for students wanting to learn how to apply and interpret biostatistical applications in the field of public health. Especially appropriate and ideal for students with limited mathematical backgrounds, "Essentials Of Biostatistics In Public Health" utilizes data and examples from the Framingham Heart Study to demonstrate methodology including the role of assumptions, statistical formulas, and appropriate interpretation of results. Also featured are specific sections devoted to study design and a sample size computation; multi-variable statistical methods accessible to first year students; and statistical computing using Excel or manual calculation. Enhanced throughout with graphs and charts, this thoroughly 'student friendly' textbook is accompanied by Professor Sullivan's "Essentials Of Biostatistics Workbook: Statistical Computing Using Excel" (9780763754778).

I recently adopted Essentials of Biostatistics in Public Health as the main text for a required introductory level biostatistics course I teach to masters and doctoral students in graduate medical sciences. I found Biostatistics in Public Health highly effective for teaching introductory biostatistics, and students were universally positive in their feedback on the text, including its many practice problems. This book is most remarkable for its clarity and conciseness in covering all of the topics at just the right depth for an introductory course. Its provides a fundamental understanding of how various statistics are computed with simple, straightforward, and interesting examples that get the basic concepts across and teach students how statistics work so that they can use them and interpret them appropriately. A particular strength of the book is that it organizes hypothesis testing and other statistical procedures EXPLICITLY in terms of the kinds of samples and variables to which they apply, which has the very practical effect of teaching, right from the beginning, which statistic applies to which kind of problem. Although the author's background is in public health and most of the examples in the text come from this field, I found that the coverage and its depth was perfectly adequate as an introduction for students in basic experimental medical sciences. I plan to adopt the second edition of Essentials of Biostatistics in Public Health in the next academic year. It has expanded coverage of important topics, but even at 300 pages I find that it is much more manageable (and less expensive) than standard texts that for my students better serve as references if or when they need more specialized coverage.

Maybe I'm biased (pun intended) by being in this professor's class, but biostats is not an easy subject to comprehend. I have taken half of the class and used this book concurrently. I am an MSW/MPH dual degree student, and I have found this subject useful for both clinical social work and public health. This is a must for both fields!!

It has been difficult for me to receive this book. The first vendor ( Pack of Books) had to refund my money after holding me up for a month! The second vendor said the book will be delivered by Royal Mail ( I never heard of them!). I am behind in my class assignments as a result of all these inconveniences. As of today ( 9/10/10), I have not yet received this book!