Introduction to Medical Statistics

by Martin Bland

Overview

Now in its Fourth Edition, An Introduction to Medical Statistics continues to be a 'must-have' textbook for anyone who needs a clear logical guide to the subject. Written in an easy-to-understand style and packed with real life examples, the text clearly explains the statistical principles used in the medical literature.

Taking readers through the common statistical methods seen in published research and guidelines, the text focuses on how to interpret and analyse statistics for clinical practice. Using extracts from real studies, the author illustrates how data can be employed correctly and incorrectly in medical research helping readers to evaluate the statistics they encounter and appropriately implement findings in clinical practice.

End of chapter exercises, case studies and multiple choice questions help readers to apply their learning and develop their own interpretative skills. This thoroughly revised edition includes new chapters on meta-analysis, missing data, and survival analysis.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199589920
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	09/23/2015
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	448
Product dimensions:	7.44(w) x 9.69(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Martin Bland, Professor of Health Statistics, University of York

J. Martin Bland, Professor of Health Statistics, Department of Health Sciences, University of York, UK
http://www.york.ac.uk/healthsciences/our-staff/martin-bland/

Table of Contents

1. Introduction2. The Design of Experiments3. Sampling and observational studies4. Summarizing data5. Presenting data6. Probability7. The Normal distribution8. Estimation9. Significance tests10. Comparing the means of small samples11. Regression and correlation12. Methods based on rank order13. The analysis of cross-tabulations14. Choosing the statistical method15. Multifactorial methods16. Time to event data17. Meta-analysis18. Determination of sample size19. Missing data20. Clinical measurement21. Mortality statistics and population structure22. The Bayesian approach23. Appendix A Suggested answers to exercises

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Kamesh Sivagnanam, MD (East Tennessee State University Quillen College of Medicine)
Description: This is the fourth edition of the popular An Introduction to Medical Statistics by Martin Bland first published in 1987. The author is well known in the field.
Purpose: The book has kept to its tradition of catering to the needs of its readers to understand commonly used statistical methods in popular medical journals.
Audience: The book is targeted at medical students, doctors, medical researchers, nurses, members of professions allied to medicine, and all others concerned with medical data. The content corresponds to undergraduate statistical courses.
Features: The 22 chapters cover significant basic concepts in statistics that are frequently used in a clinical setting. Designed for beginners in statistics, the book begins with general concepts and progresses to more advanced statistical methods, providing a smooth transition for novices. This edition includes new chapters on meta-analysis, multiple imputations, and Bayesian approaches to data including Markov chain Monte Carlo simulations. New chapters also cover bootstrapping methods, binomial regression, and kappa statistics. The book has plenty of examples that are very useful in gaining an understanding of the concepts, and they frequently use real data. Each chapter is also supplied with a set of multiple-choice questions that are helpful in the process of revision. The solutions for these MCQs appear at the end of the book and have references to the appropriate part in the book or detailed explanations. The questions are at times thought-provoking and help expand the readers' grasp of concepts in statistics. The book is overall very easy to read with appropriate use of subsections. Some chapters are extensively illustrated, which is appropriate. The occasional table and images also help. Although the mathematics involved is simple — no significant knowledge of calculus or advanced mathematical tools is necessary — the book does require a basic understanding of mathematics and functions.
Assessment: This is an excellent resource for members of the medical profession looking to understand statistics used in everyday literature. The mathematics is not overwhelming and the book is written in an easy to read style.

Doody's Review Service

"The book seems excellent for the intermediate student who needs a firm grasp of principles and practice. The clarity of the text also makes selected sections suitable for medical students and the numerous examples and diagrams are immensely supportive. It should appeal to many students who might be frightened by less friendly texts". —International Journal of Epidemiology

"The coverage is comprehensive for a book of this size and is presented in an eminently readable form." —Statistics in Medicine

From the Publisher