Biostatistics Flashcards
(142 cards)
Descriptive statistics
the collection, organization, summarization, and analysis of data
Inferential staitistics
drawing inferences about a body of data when only a part of the data is the observed
population
defined by a sphere of interest
sample
subgroup or subset of the population
parameter
characteristics or measure obtained from a population
statistic
characteristics or measure obtained from a sample
We compute _____ and use them to estimate _____.
We compute statistics and use them to estimate parameters.
nominal scale
The lowest measurement scale.
Used for naming or labeling, not ordering.
Though numbers can be used, the relationship between the numbers are not meaningful.
Ex: Categorical and Dichotomous variables (Marital status, DL #, SSN)
ordinal scale
observations are ranked; level of differences between ranks is unknown
Ex: Low, Medium, High; Likert-type scale
interval scale
observations are ranked; level of differences between ranks is equal; scale is relative
No true zero point, so ratios are meaningless.
Ex: Temperature (F/C) or pH scales (0 does not equal absence of heat/acidity)
ratio scale
observations are ranked; level of differences between ranks is equal;
true zero point exist
Ex: height, length, Kelvin Temperature scale (defines 0K as absolute zero)
Measures of disease frequency
count, ratio, proportion, rate
count
of cases of a disease or other health condition;
Ex: dorm students with COVID-19
proportion
measure that states a count relative to the size of the group;
numerator/denominator
Ex: dorm students with COVID-19/all student
ratio
divide one number into another number
numerator does not have be a subset of denominator
Ex: dorm students with COVID-19/dorm students with flu
rate
similar to ratios and proportions, but includes a time components
Ex: % of dorm students with COVID-19 in 2020
Descriptive Study Examples
- case studies/reports
- cross-sectional studies
- ecological studies
Analytical Study Examples
- Case-control Studies
- cohort studies
- randomized control studies
Cohort Study
begin with a group of people who are disease free at baseline
Follow over time and classify on exposure; identify incident cases
MOA: Relative risk
Good for prevalent diseases
Case-Control Study
Compare Diseased (cases) to Disease free (controls)
Classify on disease status; collect exposure data retrospectively
MOA: Odds ratio
Good for rare disease
RR or OR = 1
no association between exposure and outcome
RR or OR > 1
exposure increases risk of the outcome
Positive (direct) association
RR or OR < 1
exposure decreases risk of the outcome
Negative (inverse) association
RR range
-1 to 1