Lecture 1

Theory Session

Introduction to
Biostatistics
Lecturer of Biostatistics &
Assistant Director
Department of Research
Dow University of Health Sciences
Email: waqas.ahmed@duhs.edu.pk
Course Details
 Program: DPT Year 4 Semester VIII

 Course Title : Biostatistics (BST-402)

 Credit Hours : 3 (2 Hrs Theory and 2 Hrs Lab/week)

 Class Timing : 09:00AM - 03:00PM (Every Thursday)

 Course Facilitators :
Mr. Waqas Ahmed Farooqui
Ms. Sidra Zaheer
Mr. Syed Omair Adil
Ms. Hira Fatima Waseem
Objectives
After this lecture you will be able to
 Give a short introduction to Biostatistics through defining

 Basic Concept of Statistics

 Biostatistics
 Branches of Statistics
 Population and Sample
 Parameter and Statistic
 Define Data
 Identify Variable and Types of Variables
 Introduction to SPSS and its Basic Data Management Functions

Tutorial
Some Basic Concepts

Statistics is a field of study concerned with

1-Collection, Organization, Summarization and

Analysis of data.
2-Drawing of inferences about a body of data when
only a part of the data is observed.

Statisticians try to interpret and communicate

the results to others.
 Biostatistics
When the data analyzed are derived from the
biological science and medicine, we use the
term biostatistics or biometry (bio stands for
biology and metry stands for measurement) to
distinguish this particular application of
statistical tools and concepts.
Why should we study Bio-statistics?

 A tool for research

 Easier to communicate with Biostatisticians

 Understanding Medical Literature

 Population and Sample
Population:
It is the largest collection of values of a random variable for
which we have an interest at a particular time.
For example:

- The weights of all the children enrolled in a certain

- elementary school.

Populations may be finite or infinite.

For example:

- Hairs on Head (Infinite)

- Insects (Infinite)
- Height of the students in a class (Finite)
Population and Sample
Sample:

It is a part of a population.

For example:

- The weights of the Class 2 children

enrolled in the certain elementary
school.
Parameter and Statistic
Parameter:

- A number that describe a population

- A constant of a population

For example:
- The average weights of all the children enrolled in the
certain elementary school.

Here, Mean (average) is a population parameter.

Parameter and Statistic
Statistic:

- A number that describe a sample

- A constant of a sample
- Used to estimate an unknown parameter

For example:
- The average weights of Class 2 children enrolled in the
certain elementary school.

Here, Sample Mean is a statistic.

Branches of Statistics

➢ Descriptive Statistics

➢ Inferential Statistics
Branches of Statistics
 Descriptive Statistics
Methods of summarization or presentation of data.

For example:
A doctor may collect the information of BMI of 100
patients in his clinic.
The presentation of these information in some sort
of graphs and tables, and summarization in terms of
average is descriptive statistics.
Branches of Statistics
 Inferential Statistics
Techniques, by which sample statistic observed are
inferred to the corresponding population
parameters.

For example:
The doctor wants to estimate the average of BMI for
the whole city.
The branch of statistics, which takes care of this type
of generalization, is known as inferential statistics.
 Data
The raw material of Statistics is data.
- We may define data as figures. Figures result from
the process of counting or from taking a
measurement.

For example:
- When a hospital administrator counts the number
of patients (counting).
- When a nurse weights a patient (measurement).
Variable

It is a characteristic that takes on different values

in different persons, places, or things.

For example:

- heart rate,
- the heights of adult males,
- the weights of preschool children,
- the ages of patients seen in a dental clinic.
 Types of Data/Variables

Quantitative Qualitative
(Numerical) Variables (Categorical) Variables

Quantitative Qualitative
Continuos Nominal

Quantitative Qualitative
Discrète Ordinal
 Types of Variables

➢ Quantitative (Numerical)
It can be measured in the usual sense.

For example:
- the heights of adult males,
- the weights of preschool children,
- the ages of patients seen in a dental clinic.
 Types of Variables

➢ Qualitative (Categorical)

Many characteristics are not capable of being measured.

Some of them can be ordered or ranked.

For example:
- Gender: male/female
- Smoking status: smoker/nonsmoker
- Olympic medals: gold/silver/bronze
- Type of Occupation
 Types of Quantitative Variables

Discrete Continuous

A Discrete Variable A Continuous Variable

is characterized by gaps
or interruptions in the can assume any value within a
values that it can specified relevant interval of values
assume. assumed by the variable.

For example: For example:

- The number of daily - Height,
admissions to a general -- Weight,
hospital, Skull circumference.
- The number of decayed, No matter how close together the
missing or filled teeth observed heights of two people, we
per child in an can find another person whose
elementary school. height falls somewhere in between.
 Types of Qualitative Variables

Nominal Ordinal

As the name implies it Whenever qualitative observation

consist of “naming” or can be ranked or ordered according
classifies into various to some criterion.
mutually exclusive
categories.
For example :
- Blood pressure
For example : -
(high-good-low)
Grades
(Excellent –Very good –good –fail)
- Male -female - Olympic medals: gold/silver/bronze
- Sick -well
- Married –single -divorced
Variable
Often you can obtain categorical variables from numerical variables by
"categorizing" these into intervals:

For example:

- Age Children, Young Adults, Middle-aged, Senior

- Blood Pressure Low, Normal, High

In most situations there is no doubt whether a variable is categorical or

numerical.

In some special cases it may depends on the study or how the data is
collected.

For example:
- Education can be collected as "degrees" or "years of education".
THANK YOU