Fundamental concepts

• Sample versus population.
• Random sampling.
• Descriptive versus inferential.

Descriptive statistics

• Data collection (nominal scale, ordinal scale, interval scale, ratio scale).
• Frequency distribution, histogram, frequency polygon.
• Location: measures of central tendency (arithmetic mean, median, mode), quartiles, deciles and percentiles.
• Measures of variability and spread (minimum and maximum and range, variance, standard deviation).
• Distribution curves (normal distribution, bimodal distribution), Kurtosis, outlier, skewness.

Inferential statistics

• Standard error of mean, confidence intervals.
• Significance tests, hypothesis testing, error of hypothesis testing, statistical power and sample size, p value, one-tail versus two-tail test).
• Inference on means (student's t-test, comparison of means in paired and unpaired samples).
• Inference on proportions (chi-square test, Fisher's exact test)

Regression and correlation

Nonparametric methods or distribution-free methods

• Sighed rank test (Wilcoxon).
• Wilcoxon rank sum test.
• Mann-Whitney U test.
• Kruskal-Wallis test.

Life-table analysis

• Kaplan-Meier curve.
• Log rank test or Mantel-Haenszel test.

Meta-analysis (goals, pitfalls).

Evaluation of a new diagnostic test

• Reliability.
• Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, overall accuracy.
• Receiver operating characteristic curve.

References

MacNeill IB, Umphrey GJ. Biostatistics. Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1987.

Lewis AE. Biostatistics. New York : Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1984.

R.H. Riffenburgh. Statistics in medicine. San Diego : Academic Press, 1999.

Khachatryan A and Linardakis N. Biostatistics and epidemiology. New York : McGraw-Hill, 1998.

Indrayan A, Sarmukaddam SB. Medical biostatistics. New York : Marcel Dekker, 2001.

Posted June 2010