Introduction to Biostatistics • compensate for poor design

Why you should care? • indicate biological significance:

statistical significance does not mean
• Without knowledge of statistics, you are biological significance, nor vice versa!
lost.

• It’s a part of medical studies now and in

your future practice. Statistics definition

Why need to learn biostatistics? Regarded in 2 ways:

 Essential for scientific method of  as a method; which is the

investigation collection, organization,
analysis, interpretation, and
–Formulate hypothesis presentation of information
that can be stated numerically.
–Design study to objectively test hypothesis
 as data that refers to
–Collect reliable and unbiased data
quantitative (specific number)
–Process and evaluate data rigorously data affected to a marked
extent by a multiplicity of
–Interpret and draw appropriate conclusions causes

 Essential for understanding, appraisal Biostatistics

and critique of scientific literature
 is simply statistics as applied to
You can: the biological sciences, health,
and medicine.
• provide objective criteria for evaluating
hypotheses  it is concerned with collection,
organization, summarization
• Help synthesize information (not
and analysis of data.
without information loss… keep your
raw data!)  We seek to draw inferences
about a body of data when only
• help detect patterns in messy data
a part of the data is observed.
• help optimize effort
Why Biostatistics? What’s the difference?
• help you critically evaluate arguments
• Because some statistical methods are
You can’t: more heavily used in health applications
than elsewhere e.g. survival analysis,
• tell the truth (probabilistic conclusions longitudinal data analysis
only!)
 • Illustrates how to apply methodology to communication of information about
similar problems encountered in real the data.
life
Other Data Classification
Uses of Statistics (according to subjects)

• Almost all fields of study benefit from
the application of statistical methods
• To collect and use empirical data
efficiently to gain the most value with
the least cost
• To use empirical data to describe the
world around us.
• Interpretation of data
• To use empirical data to understand the
world around us
a) Demographic - i.e., population size, age,
sex, geographical distribution, births,
mortality, etc.
b) Health Status – i.e. causes and
distribution of morbidity and mortality,
as to residence, place of occurrence,
age, sex, etc.
c) Health Resources – i.e. number and
distribution of health facilities, health
manpower, health expenditures, service
statistics, etc.

• To characterize replicable processes d) Health-related socio-economic

environmental factors - i.e. water
• To distinguish random noise from supply, excreta disposal, school
pattern enrolment, food establishments,
income groups, transport, food
intake/habits, etc.
Statistics

Specific number - numerical measurement

Sources of data
determined by a set of data (sample)
Data are obtained from:
Example: Twenty-three percent (23%) of people
interviewed said that they are aware of  Analysis of records
Dengvaxia vaccination program.  Surveys
 Counting
 Experiments
 Reports
Data Classification

• Data are numbers which can be

measurements or can be obtained by Deductive and Inductive reasoning
counting.

• Biostatistics is concerned with the

interpretation of the data and the
Deductive reasoning: general principles are
applied to the specific situation at hand in order
to reach the best decision possible for a
particular patient. This type of reasoning – from
the general to the specific –

Inductive reasoning: We study a few patients

(or experimental animals), and from what we
observe. we try to make rational inferences
about what happens in general. This type of
reasoning – from the specific subject(s) at hand
to the general

Probability

 The coverage of probability should be

closely tied to the subsequent coverage
of statistics.

 The key is to present the basic rules of

probability by using probability to
describe populations and random
sampling from populations.

 Use of realistic statistical examples.