How Many Subjects?: Statistical Power Analysis in Research (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Sue Thiemann (Author) "How large a sample size must I have?..." (more)
Key Phrases: critical effect size, necessary sample size, binomial test, Master Table, Cornell Medical Index (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Until now no broad framework has existed to treat power in a unified fashion across hypothesis testing techniques. . . . An excellent contribution to the literature. . . . A valuable reference book. . . . A nice addition to the statistical literature. How Many Subjects? Should be at the disposal of teachers and students of statistics." 

-- Review

Review

"Until now no broad framework has existed to treat power in a unified fashion across hypothesis testing techniques. . . . An excellent contribution to the literature. . . . A valuable reference book. . . . A nice addition to the statistical literature. How Many Subjects? Should be at the disposal of teachers and students of statistics." 

(Applied Psychological Measurement )

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 120 pages
• Publisher: Sage Publications, Inc; 1 edition (September 1, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0803929498
• ISBN-13: 978-0803929494
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #617,177 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars simple well-written book about sample size determination, February 22, 2008

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

Helen Kraemer is a Stanford Professor with a subspecialty in statistics. She wrote this delightful book with the simple title "How many subjects." Along with Jacob Cohen's book this was one of the first statistical textbooks devoted to the determination of power and sample size in hypothesis testing situations. It is a great reference book on the topic. With the appearance of statistical software to handle the problems addressed in these books and more, the book now serve the purpose of providing a deeper understanding of the issues and an aid to help the user understand what the parameters (e.g. effect size, subject to subject variance) mean.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars significance and power, December 3, 2008

By	ekzept "ekzept" (Cambridge, MA USA) - See all my reviews

Whatever your statistical background, the approach of this book to the question of statistical power is highly illuminating. For instance, I am a poor statistician, primarily an engineer with a mathematical bent. I happen to fall into experimental and, thus, statistical contexts frequently. Nevertheless, this book elucidated the issues surrounding the somewhat ritualistic "receiver operating characteristics" tradeoffs routine of detectability versus false alarm rate more than any text in my experience. It showed how costs of failures factored into the decision threshold, rather than making some routine mimickry of a classroom derivation.

So even if statistical power isn't a routine place to visit, this book is worthwhile.

I'd say, however, that matters of statistical power ought to be considered more than they are, even if they aren't a natural fit for Bayesian formulations, which seem currently to be in vogue.