Essential Medical Statistics

Jul 18, 2026

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Essential Medical Statistics (Second Edition) provides a structured, practice-oriented guide to core and advanced statistical methods used in medical research and epidemiology. It covers data definition and visualization, analysis of numerical outcomes with confidence intervals, hypothesis testing, P-values, ANOVA, and regression models, then extends to binary outcomes, risk and odds, contingency tables, stratification for confounding, and logistic regression. It further addresses longitudinal rates and survival analysis, statistical modelling including likelihood, clustered data, systematic reviews, meta-analysis, Bayesian methods, plus study design links, sample size calculation, measurement error, and interpretation strategies.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages513

Reading Time21 h 33 min

Preface to the second edition

Part A: Basics

Using this book

Defining the data

Displaying the data

Part B: Analysis of numerical outcomes

Means, standard deviations and standard errors

The normal distribution

Confidence interval for a mean

Comparison of two means

Analysis of variance

Linear regression and correlation

Multiple regression

Goodness of fit and regression diagnostics

Transformations

Part C: Analysis of binary outcomes

Probability, risk and odds

Proportions and the binomial distribution

Comparing two proportions

Chi-squared tests

Controlling for confounding: stratification

Logistic regression

Matched studies

Part D: Longitudinal studies: Analysis of rates and survival times

Poisson distribution and longitudinal studies

Comparing rates

Poisson regression

Standardization

Survival analysis

Regression analysis of survival data

Part E: Statistical modelling

Likelihood

Regression modelling

Relaxing model assumptions

Analysis of clustered data

Systematic reviews and meta-analysis

Bayesian statistics

Part F: Study design, analysis and interpretation

Linking analysis to study design

Calculation of required sample size

Measurement error

Measures of association and impact

Strategies for analysis

Appendix: Statistical tables

Statistical tables and critical values

Bibliography

Index

This page intentionally left blank Essential Medical Statistics Dedication To our children: Daisy and Sam Kirkwood Max, Kitty and Emily Sterne SECOND EDITION Essential Medical Statistics Betty R. Kirkwood MA MSc DIC, Hon MFPHM, FMedSci Professor of Epidemiology and International Health London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine University of London Jonathan A.C. Sterne MA MSc PhD Professor of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology Department of Social Medicine University of Bristol \# 1988, 2003 by Blackwell Science Ltd a Blackwell Publishing company Blackwell Science, Inc., 350 Main Street, Malden, Massachusetts 02148–5020, USA Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK Blackwell Science Asia Pty Ltd, 550 Swanston Street, Carlton, Victoria 3053, Australia The right of the Author tobe identified asthe Author of this Work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 . All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, without the prior permission of the publisher. First published 1988 Second edition 2003 2 2006 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Kirkwood, Betty R. Essential medical statistics/Betty R. Kirkwood, Jonathan A.C. Sterne.—2nd ed. p. ; cm. Rev. ed. of: Essentials of medical statistics/Betty R. Kirkwood. 1988. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0–86542–871–9 1. Medicine–Research–Statistical methods. 2. Medical statistics.[DNLM: 1 . Statistics. 2. Biometry. WA 950 K59e 2003] I. Sterne, Jonathan A. C. II. Kirkwood, Betty R. Essential medical statistics. III. Title. R853.S7 K497 2003 6100 . 7027—dc21 2002015537 ISBN: 978–0–86542–871–3 A catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library Set in 10/13pt Times by Kolam Information Services Pvt. Ltd, Pondicherry, India Printed and bound in United Kingdom by MPG Books Ltd, Bodmin, Cornwall Commissioning Editor: Fiona Goodgame Editorial Assistant: Vicky Pinder Production Editor: Karen Moore Production Controller: Kate Charman For further information on Blackwell Publishing, visit our website: [www.blackwellpublishing.com](www.blackwellpublishing.com) Contents Preface to the second edition vii Preface to the first edition ix Part A: Basics 1 Using this book 3 2 Defining the data 9 3 Displaying the data 15 Part B: Analysis of numerical outcomes 4 Means, standard deviationsand standard errors 33 5 The normal distribution 42 6 Confidence interval for a mean 50 7 Comparison of two means: confidence intervals, hypothesis tests and P-values 58 8 Using P-values and confidence intervals to interpret the results of statistical analyses 71 9 Comparison of means from several

FAQs

What topics are covered in the book’s basics section?

The book introduces how to use the material, define data, and display data effectively before moving to formal analysis methods.

How does the book address analysis of numerical outcomes?

It covers means and variability (standard deviations and standard errors), the normal distribution, confidence intervals for means, comparisons using hypothesis tests and P-values, ANOVA, and regression and correlation techniques.

What statistical methods are included for binary outcomes and confounding?

It includes probability, risk and odds, binomial and proportion methods, chi-squared tests for contingency tables, stratification to control for confounding, logistic regression, and matched studies.

Jul 18, 2026

Upload by Aurora