Gerald van Belle – författare

"For a beginner [this book] is a treasure trove; for an experienced person it can provide new ideas on how better to pursue the subject of applied statistics." —Journal of Quality Technology

Sensibly organized for quick reference, Statistical Rules of Thumb, Second Edition compiles simple rules that are widely applicable, robust, and elegant, and each captures key statistical concepts. This unique guide to the use of statistics for designing, conducting, and analyzing research studies illustrates real-world statistical applications through examples from fields such as public health and environmental studies. Along with an insightful discussion of the reasoning behind every technique, this easy-to-use handbook also conveys the various possibilities statisticians must think of when designing and conducting a study or analyzing its data.

Each chapter presents clearly defined rules related to inference, covariation, experimental design, consultation, and data representation, and each rule is organized and discussed under five succinct headings: introduction; statement and illustration of the rule; the derivation of the rule; a concluding discussion; and exploration of the concept''s extensions. The author also introduces new rules of thumb for topics such as sample size for ratio analysis, absolute and relative risk, ANCOVA cautions, and dichotomization of continuous variables. Additional features of the Second Edition include:

New chapters on observational studies and Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM)

Additional emphasis on variation and causation

Updated material with new references, examples, and sources

A related Web site provides a rich learning environment and contains additional rules, presentations by the author, and a message board where readers can share their own strategies and discoveries. Statistical Rules of Thumb, Second Edition is an ideal supplementary book for courses in experimental design and survey research methods at the upper-undergraduate and graduate levels. It also serves as an indispensable reference for statisticians, researchers, consultants, and scientists who would like to develop an understanding of the statistical foundations of their research efforts. A related website www.vanbelle.org provides additional rules, author presentations and more.

The first edition of Biostatistics: A Methodology for the Health Sciences has served professionals and students alike as a leading resource for learning how to apply statistical methods to the biomedical sciences. This substantially revised Second Edition brings the book into the twenty-first century for today’s aspiring and practicing medical scientist.

This versatile reference provides a wide-ranging look at basic and advanced biostatistical concepts and methods in a format calibrated to individual interests and levels of proficiency. Written with an eye toward the use of computer applications, the book examines the design of medical studies, descriptive statistics, and introductory ideas of probability theory and statistical inference; explores more advanced statistical methods; and illustrates important current uses of biostatistics.

New to this edition are discussions of

Enhanced by a companion Web site providing data sets, selected problems and solutions, and examples from such current topics as HIV/AIDS, this is a thoroughly current, comprehensive introduction to the field.

"For a beginner [this book] is a treasure trove; for an experienced person it can provide new ideas on how better to pursue the subject of applied statistics." —Journal of Quality Technology

Sensibly organized for quick reference, Statistical Rules of Thumb, Second Edition compiles simple rules that are widely applicable, robust, and elegant, and each captures key statistical concepts. This unique guide to the use of statistics for designing, conducting, and analyzing research studies illustrates real-world statistical applications through examples from fields such as public health and environmental studies. Along with an insightful discussion of the reasoning behind every technique, this easy-to-use handbook also conveys the various possibilities statisticians must think of when designing and conducting a study or analyzing its data.

Each chapter presents clearly defined rules related to inference, covariation, experimental design, consultation, and data representation, and each rule is organized and discussed under five succinct headings: introduction; statement and illustration of the rule; the derivation of the rule; a concluding discussion; and exploration of the concept''s extensions. The author also introduces new rules of thumb for topics such as sample size for ratio analysis, absolute and relative risk, ANCOVA cautions, and dichotomization of continuous variables. Additional features of the Second Edition include:

New chapters on observational studies and Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM)

Additional emphasis on variation and causation

Updated material with new references, examples, and sources

A related Web site provides a rich learning environment and contains additional rules, presentations by the author, and a message board where readers can share their own strategies and discoveries. Statistical Rules of Thumb, Second Edition is an ideal supplementary book for courses in experimental design and survey research methods at the upper-undergraduate and graduate levels. It also serves as an indispensable reference for statisticians, researchers, consultants, and scientists who would like to develop an understanding of the statistical foundations of their research efforts. A related website www.vanbelle.org provides additional rules, author presentations and more.

An accessible and practical approach to the design and analysis of experiments in the health sciences

Design and Analysis of Experiments in the Health Sciences provides a balanced presentation of design and analysis issues relating to data in the health sciences and emphasizes new research areas, the crucial topic of clinical trials, and state-of-the- art applications.

Advancing the idea that design drives analysis and analysis reveals the design, the book clearly explains how to apply design and analysis principles in animal, human, and laboratory experiments while illustrating topics with applications and examples from randomized clinical trials and the modern topic of microarrays. The authors outline the following five types of designs that form the basis of most experimental structures:

A related website features a wealth of data sets that are used throughout the book, allowing readers to work hands-on with the material. In addition, an extensive bibliography outlines additional resources for further study of the presented topics.

Requiring only a basic background in statistics, Design and Analysis of Experiments in the Health Sciences is an excellent book for introductory courses on experimental design and analysis at the graduate level. The book also serves as a valuable resource for researchers in medicine, dentistry, nursing, epidemiology, statistical genetics, and public health.

An accessible and practical approach to the design and analysis of experiments in the health sciences

Design and Analysis of Experiments in the Health Sciences provides a balanced presentation of design and analysis issues relating to data in the health sciences and emphasizes new research areas, the crucial topic of clinical trials, and state-of-the- art applications.

Advancing the idea that design drives analysis and analysis reveals the design, the book clearly explains how to apply design and analysis principles in animal, human, and laboratory experiments while illustrating topics with applications and examples from randomized clinical trials and the modern topic of microarrays. The authors outline the following five types of designs that form the basis of most experimental structures:

A related website features a wealth of data sets that are used throughout the book, allowing readers to work hands-on with the material. In addition, an extensive bibliography outlines additional resources for further study of the presented topics.

Requiring only a basic background in statistics, Design and Analysis of Experiments in the Health Sciences is an excellent book for introductory courses on experimental design and analysis at the graduate level. The book also serves as a valuable resource for researchers in medicine, dentistry, nursing, epidemiology, statistical genetics, and public health.

With the mounting public interest in disease, health, physicians, nurses, and hospitals, it is necessary to study problems in the field with a view to constructive improvement. This report will stimulate constructive change and give support to improvements in individual hospitals. Based mainly on a detailed questionnaire study of general hospitals in Ontario, it is a practical document, referring to current procedures, which will help administrators, nurses, and physicians to improve infection control in their institutions. It will be useful, too, in the instruction of nurses and medical students.

Because a survey in itself will not produce beneficial change in hospitals, practical suggestions for infection control have been provided in the body of the report and in appendices. In controversial areas, the authors have made what they considered to be the most reasonable suggestions, but they have not hesitated to record those practices which they believed to be wrong or outdated. In all cases, they have supported their case by direct observation, quotations from the questionnaires received from hospitals or by views expressed in current technical literature. Along with the questionnaire survey, which covered 208 hospitals, the authors conducted intensive studies of six institutions of various sizes including in their studies interviews with hospital staff, the writing of a report, and discussion of the report with the hospital administrator. The promise of complete anonymity ensured that the information received was accurate.

In the future, hospitals will be increasingly faced with two serious problems: overcrowding, with too many patients, too many people ministering to these patients, too many people ministering to these patients, and, in all this, too many sources of infection; and a lack of adequately trained staff. It may be even more difficult to alter the latter set of circumstances than the former, because it is easier to construct more buildings to counter overcrowding than it is to train the multitude of technical people for all the wide reaches of medical science and service. Realizing this, the author recommend the hospitals be so constructed, staff so trained, and equipment so designed and infection control will be the most efficient possible under conditions of stress and shortage of personnel. They warn that the unplanned, untested use of mechanical contrivances and procedures could lead to more, rather than less, spread of hospital infection.