Biostatistics- data analyzed are derived from the biological sciences and medicine.

Use to distinguish this

particular application of statistical tools and concepts.

1. Statistics

field of study concerned with:

a. collection, organization, summarization and analysis of data.

b. 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.
• The tools of statistics are employed in many fields: business, education, psychology, agriculture,
economics, … etc.

Application of Statistics:

Plural vs. Singular

• Statistics (plural)- Set of data or a mass of observations.

Example is in public health statistics

• Vital statistics – vital events such as birth, death, marriage etc.

• Health statistics – morbidity
• Hospital statistics – number of admissions etc.
• Service statistics – family planning acceptance

- Statistic (singular)- Body of methods or techniques for the organization and analysis of collected
information.
Data

- The raw material of Statistics.

- 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 weighs a patient (measurement).

Categories

- Primary- obtained by the researcher.

- Secondary- already existing.

Sources of Data

- search for suitable data to serve as the raw material for our investigation.
1. Routinely kept records.
- Hospital medical records contain immense amounts of information on patients.
- Hospital accounting records contain a wealth of data on the facility’s business activities

A. External sources

- The data needed to answer a question may already exist in the form of published reports, commercially
available data banks, or the research literature, i.e., someone else has already asked the same question.

• The source may be a survey, if the data needed is about answering certain questions.

For example:

If the administrator of a clinic wishes to obtain information regarding the mode of transportation used by patients
to visit the clinic, then a survey may be conducted among patients to obtain this information.

• Frequently the data needed to answer a question are available only as the result of an experiment.

For example:
If a nurse wishes to know which of several strategies is best for maximizing patient compliance, she might conduct
an experiment in which the different strategies of motivating compliance are tried with different patients.

Sources of Data on Health and Ill- health

1. Census
2. Registries of vital events
3. Notifiable diseases
4. Philippine Health Statistics
5. Field Health Service Info. System

Qualities of Statistical Data

1. Timeliness
2. Completeness
3. Accuracy
4. Precision
5. Relevance
6. Adequacy

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 Variables:

1. Quantitative Variables- It can be measured in the usual sense.

Examples:

-the heights of adult males,

-the weights of preschool children,

 -the ages of patients seen in a dental clinic.

Types of Quantitative Variable:

A. Discrete Variable- is characterized by gaps or interruptions in the values that it can assume.

Example:

-The number of daily admissions to a general hospital,

-The number of decayed, missing or filled teeth per child in an elementary school.

B. Continuous Variable- can assume any value within a specified relevant interval of values
assumed by the variable.

Example:

-Height

-Weight

-Skull circumference

2. Qualitative Variables- Many characteristics are not capable of being measured. Some of them can be
ordered or ranked.

Examples:

-classification of people into socio-economic groups,

-social classes based on income, education, etc.

Population- It is the largest collection of values of a random variable for which we have an interest at a particular
time.

Examples:

- The weights of all the children enrolled in a certain elementary school.

-Populations may be finite or infinite.

Sample- It is a part of a population.

Example:
 -The weights of only a fraction of these children.

Measurements- assignment of numbers to objects or events according to a set of rules.

A. Can be Nominal, Ordinal, Interval, Ratio

Statistical Inference- the procedure by which we reach a conclusion about a population on the basis of the
information contained in a sample that has been drawn from that population.

Steps in Conducting a Research

1. Identify and Define Research problem

a. Select a topic for research
- Researcher characteristics
- Nature of the topic
- Feasibility
- Ethical considerations

Program Objective vs. Research Objective

1. Program objective/s
- Reflects the desired output of the intervention being considered.
- It describes what the implementor wants to happen at the end of the program.

Example:
 - To decrease the prevalence of severe malnutrition among preschoolers by 80% within a two-year period

2. Research objective/s
- Reflects the question which need to be answered in order to determine whether or not the
program objective has been attained.

Example:

- To determine the baseline level of the prevalence of severe malnutrition among preschoolers.

a. General- generic statement.

Example:

- To determine the effectiveness of nutrition education program for preschool children.

b. Specific- measurable.

Example:

- To determine the level of nutrition knowledge among preschool children before and after the program.

Steps:

1. Review literature related to the problem identified.

2. Define the actual problem for investigation in clear specific terms.
- Scope and delimitation of the study
a. Scope- how in-depth your study is to explore the research question and the parameters in which it will
operate in relation to the population and time frame.
b. Delimitation- factors and variables not to be included in the investigation. In other words, they are the
boundaries the researcher sets in terms of study duration, population size and type of participants, etc.

- introduction.

c. Limitations- validity and reliability of the study. They are characteristics of the research design or
methodology that are out of your control but influence your research findings. Because of this, they
determine the internal and external validity of your study and are considered potential weaknesses.

-discussion.

3. Types of research design

a. Qualitative – generate hypothesis
 b. Descriptive – generate hypothesis
c. Quasi-experimental – test the hypothesis
d. Experimental – test the hypothesis
4. Design the tools for data collection- Validated questionnaires, interview forms etc.
5. Design the plan for data analysis- Use of dummy tables.
6. Collect the data
7. Process the collected data
8. Analyze the data- statistics
9. Write the research report