Following a highly successful first edition, this book takes on a highly entertaining approach to an area normally reserved for dry, hard-to-follow books. Students benefit not only from the humorous aspects, but also from the in-depth and memorable discussions. This second edition features four new chapters on computer-intensive techniques, including MANOVA, Logistic Regression, Measuring Change and Structural Equation Modeling. This book is excellent for medical and other health professions students. Nature of data and statistics Basics Looking at the data: a first look at graphing data Describing the data with numbers: measures of central tendency and dispersion Normal distribution Probability Elements of statistical inference Analysis of variance Comparing two groups: the t-test More than two groups: one-way ANOVA Factorial ANOVA Two repeated observations: the paired t-test and alternatives Repeated measures ANOVA Regression and correlation Simple regression and correlation Multiple regression Advanced topics in regression and ANOVA Principal components and factor analysis: fooling around with factors Nonparametric statistics Tests of significance for categorical frequency data Measures of association for categorical data Tests of significance for ranked data Measures of association for ranked data Life table (survival) analysis Reprise Screwups, oddballs and other vagarities of science: locating outliers, handling missing data and transformations Putting it all together. A refreshing, often irreverent, and very effective approach to the dreaded subject of statistics, particularly as it relates to healthcare professionals. The authors' treatment is detailed but manages to keep the reader's attention by way of wit and sarcasm. As the authors state: "We attempt...to insult all (health) professions equally." Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR McMaster Univ., Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Reprint of the 1994 Decker original. Offers a witty, synopsis of biostatistics for the nonspecialist; i.e., a physician or researcher with no background in statistics. Includes short explanations of how to run specific functions using SPSS/PC, BMDP, and Minitab computer software. This guide to biostatistics takes an entertaining approach. Students should benefit not only from the humorous aspects, but also the in-depth discussions. Each section has a "Circular Reasoning and Anti-intellectual Pomposity" (C.R.A.P) detector, and "Computer Notes" for SPSS, BMDP and Minitab. The Nature Of Data And Statistics -- Analysis Of Variance -- Regression And Correlation -- Nonparametric Statistics -- Reprise. Geoffrey R. Norman, David L. Streiner. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 287-292) And Index.
