Variation Flashcards
What is observation?
Actual data result in front of you
What is tendency?
True or underlying trend or relationship
Relationship between observation and tendency?
Observed is best estimate of true tendency. Testing hypothesis to do so
What is a hypothesis?
A statement that an underlying tendency of scientific interest takes a particular quantities value.
When testing the hypothesis, use and state the null as your hypothesis.
What is calculated probability?
P-value
What does a small p-value indicate?
Hypothesis is incompatible
If p-value equal to or below 0.05?
Reject hypothesis (null) at 95% confidence level as observations are statistically significant hence data is inconsistent with the hypothesis and strong evidence against hypothesis.
At P=0.05, there is 5% chance that it is due to chance (the null) whereas 95% chance that A and B are connected. 0.05 is the cut off, hence a lower p-value the better.
Is p-value > 0.05?
This does not prove the null hypothesis (even is P=0.999), just can not reject null hypothesis.
There is a greater than 5% chance that the effect is due to chance hence significant value
Bones to pick about p-value?
P<0.05 is arbitrary as nothing much changed
Sample size affects it
Statistical significant not alway clinically relevant
What is the 95% confidence interval?
We can be 95% sure that the true value of any measure lies between
(Observed value/error factor) - (Observed value X error factor)
How to calculate error factor for incident rate or prevalence rate?
2(square root (1/d))
e
d= events observed in population
How to calculate error factor for incidence rate ratio?
2(square root (1/d1 + 1/d2))
e
d1 & d2= events observed in each population
How to calculate error factor for SMR?
2(square root 1+O)
e
O= observed number of events in population
Method to doing an IRR and statistical relevance question?
State you H0 - null that there is no difference
IR for both group
IRR to give value X
Error factor of value X
Upper and lower CI
H0 is the value 1, hence if 1 features in CI there is
insufficient evidence to reject the null hypothesis as we can not say with confidence that men are more likely to have a stroke than women as p>0.05
Define cohort study?
Group of people with know exposures / personal characteristics
Process of concurrent cohort studies?
Start with 2 groups disease free people of same characteristics. 1 group with exposure, the other without.
Follow up over time for set period of time.
Calculate IRR and how many & which diseases occurs in p-y form.
Analyse and interpret
What is another name for concurrent?
Prospective