Introduction PDF

Biostatistics
&
Research
Methodology
Dr. Sybil Rose

INTRODUCTION
Statistics
A field of study concerned with the

collection, organization and
summarization of data, and the drawing
of inferences about a body of data when
only part of the data are observed.
Biostatistics
An application of statistical method to biological

phenomena.
The science of assembling and
interpreting numerical data
(Bland 2000)
The discipline concerned with

the treatment of numerical
data derived from groups of
individuals (Armitage et al.,
2001)
Uses of Biostatistics
• Hospital Utility Statistics
• Resource Allocation
• Vaccination Uptake
• Magnitudes of a disease/ condition
• Assessing risk factors
• Disease frequency
• Making a diagnosis and choosing an appropriate treatment
(implicit/probability)
Statistics can be used to:
1. Draw conclusions
2. Make predictions about what will happen in other subjects
Examples
At Lahore General
Kat chewers are 3 times
Hospital, 5% of the
more likely to have MI
patients were diagnosed
than non-chewers
with DM last year
Antibiotics reduce the

duration of viral throat
infections by 1-2 days
Medical Research vs. Clinical Practice
Data are collected from

individual subjects. Data are collected from
individual subjects
The aim is to be able to make

some general statements about Interested in the particular
a wider set of subjects that have subjects
been studied
General Steps in a research process
What does Biostatistics cover?
Data Data
Planning Design
Collection Processing
Data
Data Analysis Interpretation Publication
Presentation
Population
Population is a complete set of items or
subjects which can be studied.
• Target Population: A collection of items
that have something in common for
which we wish to draw conclusions at a
particular time.
• Study Population: The specific population
from which data are collected.
Sample is a subset of the study population.
(A smaller part of that population).
Generalizability
It is a two-stage procedure:
we want to generalize conclusions from
the sample to the study population and
then from the study population to the
target population.
Examples
Target Population:
All secondary students in
In a study of the prevalence of Pakistan
Kat chewing among secondary Study Population:
students in Pakistan, a random
sample of secondary students All secondary students in
in LGH were taken Lahore
Sample:
Secondary students in LGH
Sample
Study
Population
Target
Population
Parameter & Statistic
Parameter: Statistic:
A descriptive measure A descriptive measure
computed from the data of a computed from the data of a
population. (Quantity sample. (Quantity calculated
calculated from population). from the sample).
Eg., mean serum glucose of Eg., mean serum glucose of
the population the sample is 110mg/dl
Types of Data
Scales of measurement
§ Clearly not all measurements are the same.
§ Measuring an individuals weight is qualitatively different from
measuring their response to some treatment on a three category of
scale, “improved”, “stable”, “not improved”.
§ Measuring scales are different according to the degree of precision
involved.
Types of scales of measurement
There are five types of scales of measurement
A)Qualitative Data:
1. Nominal Scale
2. Ordinal Scale
B)Quantitative Data: (Numerical /Continuous data)
3. Interval Scale
4. Ratio Scale
5. Discrete (numbers)
Nominal Scale
(can not be ordered):
Uses names, labels or symbols to assign each

measurement to one of a limited number of
categories that cannot be ordered
Eg.,
Blood type (A/B/AB/O)
Sex (Male/Female)
Race (Asian/African/Oromo/Somali)
Martial Status (Married/ Single/ Divorced)
The data is said to be dichotomous if there
are only two possible categories. (eg., Sex,
male/female)
Ordinal Scale
(categories can be placed in order):
Assigns each measurement to one of a

limited number of categories that are ranked
in terms of a graded order.
Eg., A questionnaire may ask respondents
how happy they are with the quality of
services provided at the hospital; the choices
can be: Very happy, Quite happy, Unhappy &
Very unhappy.
Degree of Malnutrition: Mild, Moderate,
Severe
Socio-economic status: Upper, Middle, Lower
Interval Scale
(equally spaced intervals):
Assign each measurement to one of an

unlimited number of equally spaced categories.
It has no true zero point.
Eg., Body temperature is measured in Celsius or
Fahrenheit, and heart rate is measured per
second. Thus the difference in interval between
5kg and 10kg is the same as that between 20kg
and 25kg.
These kinds of measurements can be converted
into dichotomous nominal scales e.g. afebrile
(oral temp < 37) febrile (>37) also can be
ordered (ordinal scale).
Ratio Scale
Measurement begins at a true zero point, and the

scale has equal space. Ratio data is similar to
interval scales, but it is the ratio of two
measurements and also has a true zero.
Eg., Height per weight, blood pressure.
Discrete Data
(Numbers):
All values are clearly separated from each other,

although numbers are used.
Eg., the number of surgical operations performed
in one month.
Number of newly diagnosed psychiatric patients
last year.
Variables: A characteristic which takes different values in
different persons, places, or things.
Qualitative variable: Quantitative variable:

The notion of magnitude is Variable that has magnitude.
absent or implicit.
Discrete variable: Continuous variable:

It can only have a finite number It can have an infinite number
of values in any given interval. of possible values in any given
interval.
Data
The term DATA refers to (Items of information)
Systems for collecting data

Regular System Ad hoc system
(Routine data collecting (Non-Routine):
system): A form of survey to collect
Registration of events as they information that is not available
become available on a regular basis
Examples
1. Routine System
• Census: Enumeration of all individuals in a country on a fixed day.
• Vital registrations: Birth, Deaths, Marriage, Divorce, etc.,
• Disease notification: international notification, like cholera, a national
notification, like polio, cholera, hepatitis = notification is from district to
national to international level.
• Disease registry: TB, Cancer, Stroke, Birth defects
• Medical Records: Schools, Colleges, Industries
• Hospital Records
• Environmental health records
Examples
2. Non-Routine System
• Disease Surveillance: Polio, Malaria, AIDS = it is important for control,
prevention and eradication
• Surveys: Nutritional Status by interviewing examination or postal enquiry
based.
• Social Schemes: Medical insurance, Sickness absenteeism, disability
benefits, welfare schemes
• Economic data: Consumption of goods, export and import, drugs,
employment = helps planning commission to formulate health policies.
• Demographic data: population movements, major epidemics
Sources of Data
Primary data Secondary Data
Collected from the items or Data which had been collected

individual respondents directly by certain people or agencies,
for the purpose of a certain and statistically treated and the
study. information contained in it is
used for other purposes.
Thank you J

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Biostatistics

Dr. Sybil Rose

A field of study concerned with the

An application of statistical method to biological

The discipline concerned with

Antibiotics reduce the

Data are collected from

The aim is to be able to make

Uses names, labels or symbols to assign each

Assigns each measurement to one of a

Assign each measurement to one of an

Measurement begins at a true zero point, and the

All values are clearly separated from each other,

Qualitative variable: Quantitative variable:

Discrete variable: Continuous variable:

Systems for collecting data

Primary data Secondary Data

Collected from the items or Data which had been collected

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