Week 1 Introduction to Statistics in Medical Research Flashcards
What is the goal of descriptive statistics?
To describe and summarize information contained within the data
What are the five principal components of statistics?
Collection of data
Organization of data
Analysis of data
Interpretation of data
Presentation of data
How is descriptive statistics typically done?
Using simple summaries such as averages (mean), middle values (median), most common values (mode), and measures of spread (range, standard deviation).
What is the goal of inferential statistics?
To draw conclusions about a larger population from sample data, often using mathematical methods.
How is inferential statistics typically done?
Using techniques like hypothesis testing, confidence intervals, and regression analysis to make predictions or generalizations.
What’s the difference between descriptive and inferential statistics?
Descriptive: Describes what the data shows.
Inferential: Makes predictions or inferences about a larger group based on the data.
What is important to know about statistics?
Statistics help in collecting, organizing, analyzing, interpreting, and presenting data.
They can be descriptive or inferential.
Statistics are powerful but can be easily misused.
Always evaluate if the inference follows from the data and statistics.
What are the types of data in statistics?
Dichotomous
Categorical
Short ordinal
Continuous
Time-to-event (survival)
Rate data
Diagnostic measures
What is dichotomous (binary) data?
Data with two possible outcomes (e.g., yes/no, success/failure, male/female).
What is categorical data?
Data that can be divided into unordered categories (e.g., blood type, eye color).
What is short ordinal data?
Data with ordered categories, but without numeric differences between them (e.g., pain level: none, mild, moderate, severe).
What is continuous data?
Data that can take any value within a continuous range (e.g., height, weight, blood pressure).
What is time-to-event (survival) data?
Data measuring the time until a specific event occurs, like death or recovery.
What is rate data?
Data that tracks the rate of events over a given period or in a population, considering varying lengths of time.
What is diagnostic data?
Data that measures the accuracy of tests in diagnosing conditions, including sensitivity, specificity, predictive values, and likelihood ratios.
