Debre Markos University

College of health science

Department of Public

INTRODUCTION TO BIOSTATISTICS

Moges Agazhe (BSc., MPHB)

 Chapter one: Introduction

Objectives of the section

At the end of this section students will be able to:

 Understand the history and rationale of statistics

 Familiar with some frequently used concepts/terms/

definitions in biostatistics

 Identify the different types of variables

 Understand the different types of data collection

methods
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 History of Statistics cont…
The two common schools of thoughts of statistics are:

Bayesian
 It combines the results of an experiment with some prior information to get what is called a
posterior probability

• Probability is subjective and can be applied to single events based on degree of confidence or
beliefs

 Parameters are random variables that has a given distribution, and other probability
statements can be made about them

 The controversial part of Bayesian thought is the prior information because two people may
have different prior knowledge or information and thus end up with a different result

 The advantage of Bayesian methods is that they can include other relevant information and
are therefore useful for integrating the results of many experiments.
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 History of Statistics cont…
Frequentist (The classical school of thought)
 Probability is objective and refers to the limit of an event's relative
frequency in a large number of trials

 Parameters are all fixed and unknown constants

 Any statistical process only has interpretations based on limited

frequencies.

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 Definition of some basic concepts in statistics
 The term statistics is used to mean either statistical data or
estimates or statistical methods.

 Statistical data: it refers to numerical descriptions of things.

These may take the form of counts or measurements.

 Estimates (the plural form of statistic): two or more

descriptive measures computed from the data of a
sample/samples (e.g. sample mean or proportion)

 Statistical methods: it refers to a body of methods used for

collecting, organising, analyzing and interpreting numerical
data for understanding a phenomenon or making wise
decisions
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 Definition cont…
 Statistics is the science of gaining information from data through

 collecting data,

 Organizing,

 analysing and drawing conclusion (inferences) from data.

 When the data being analyzed are derived from the biological sciences,
medicine or public health, we use the term biostatistics to distinguish this
particular application of statistical tools and concepts from the others

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 Rationale of studying statistics

 Public health & medicine are becoming increasingly

quantitative; and

 statistics is the language of assembling and handling

quantitative issues

 i.e. the planning, conduct, and interpretation of much of

medical research are becoming increasingly reliant on
statistical technology.

 Is the new drug better than the one commonly in use? How
much better?
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 Definition cont…
Target Population: A collection of items that have something in common for
which we wish to draw conclusions at a particular time.

Study(sampled) Population: is a part of target population and

actually accessible and legitimate for data collection

Sample: A subset of a study population, about which information is

actually obtained.

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 Sample, study population, target population

STUDY POPULATION

Sample

TARGET POPULATION

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 Definition cont…

 Census: Complete enumeration of the population

 Sample survey: A statistical study based on samples

 Parameter: A descriptive measure computed from the data of

a population.

 Statistic: A descriptive measure computed from the data of a

sample

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 Parameter and statistic

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 Definition cont…

 Data: Information collected from the source

 Sampling: The technique of selecting representative portion

of the entire population

 Variable: A characteristic which takes different values in

different persons, places, or things/objects.

(e.g., BP, age, sex, birth weight, etc)

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 Types of variables
 In broad we have two types of variables: (quantitative and qualitative)

1. Quantitative variable:

a. Discrete data: is restricted to taking only specified values often integers or

counts that differ by fixed amounts.

e.g. Number of new AIDS cases reported during one year period,
Number of beds available in a particular hospital

b. Continuous data: represent measurable quantities but are not restricted

to taking on certain specific values i.e fractional values are possible

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e.g. weight, cholesterol level, time, temperature
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 Types of variables…

2. Qualitative variable:

 Information is measured by assigning names or label to

items (events) according to a set of rules, which result
on different types of data.

 Eg. Gender, blood group, Marital status

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 Levels of Measurement
The level of measurement determines which statistical calculations
are meaningful.

The four level/scale of measurement are: nominal, ordinal,

interval, and ratio.

Nominal
Lowest to
Levels of Ordinal highest
Measurement Interval
Ratio

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 Nominal Level of Measurement
Data at the nominal level of measurement are
qualitative only.
Nominal
Calculated using names, labels, or
Levels of qualities. No mathematical
Measurement computations can be made at this
level.

Colors in the
Blood type Religion
Ethiopian flag

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 Ordinal Level of Measurement
Data at the ordinal level of measurement are
qualitative or quantitative.

Levels of
Measurement Ordinal
Arranged in order, but differences
between data entries are not
meaningful.

Class standings: Severity of disease as: Top 10 songs

freshman, sophomore, healthy, mild, moderate, played by
junior, senior sever Ethiopian idol

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 Interval Level of Measurement
Data at the interval level of measurement are
quantitative. A zero entry simply represents a position on a
scale; the entry is not an inherent zero.

Levels of Interval
Measurement
Arranged in order, the differences between
data entries can be calculated.

Temperatures Years on a timeline IQ level

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 Ratio Level of Measurement
Data at the ratio level of measurement are similar to the
interval level, but a zero entry is meaningful.

A ratio of two data values can be formed so

Levels of one data value can be expressed as a ratio.
Measurement

Ratio

Grade point
Ages Weights
averages

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 Summary of Levels of Measurement

Determine if one
Arrange
Level of Put data in Subtract data value is a
data in
measurement categories data values multiple of
order
another

Nominal Yes No No No
Ordinal Yes Yes No No
Interval Yes Yes Yes No
Ratio Yes Yes Yes Yes
 Exercises
Give the correct scales of measurement for each variable
1. Blood group ...............................
2. Temperature (Celsius) ...............
3. Hair colour ................................
4. Job satisfaction index (1-5).........
5. Number of heart attacks .............
6. Calendar year ...........................
7. Serum uric acid (mg/100ml)..........
8. Number of accidents in a 3 - year period....
9. Number of cases of each reportable disease
reported by a health worker.......
10. The average weight gain of 6 1-year old dogs with
a special diet supplement was 950 grams last month...
11. Ethnic group..........................
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 Sources of data

1. Primary sources of data: it is the original raw data that needs the
involvement of the researcher himself to collect.

2. Secondary sources of data: In this case data were obtained from

already collected sources like newspaper, magazines, and from
organizations like CSA, hospital records and existing data like:
Mortality reports
Morbidity reports
Epidemic reports
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 Methods of data collection

A. Observing

B. Interviewing (face-to-face)

C. Administering written questionnaires

D. Focus group discussions

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 A. Observation

• Observation is a technique that involves systematically selecting,

watching and recording behavior and characteristics of living beings,
objects or phenomena

• Give additional, more accurate information on behavior than interviews

or questionnaires.

• Checklists or a list of question are usually used.

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 B. Interviewing
 It involves oral questioning of respondents, either individually
or as a group
 Answers can be recorded by:
 writing them down
 tape-recording
 combination of them

 Interviews can be conducted with varying degree of flexibility

(high degree of flexibility Vs low degree of flexibility)
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 C. Self-administered questionnaire
• Written questions are presented that are to be answered by the respondents
in written form

• A written questionnaire can be administered in d/t ways like by:

– Sending questionnaires by mail

– Gathering all or part of the respondents in one place at one time

– giving oral or written instructions,& letting them fill out the

questionnaires

– Hand-delivering questionnaires to respondents and collecting them later

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 D. Focus group discussions (FGDs)
 FGDs allow a group of 8-12 informants to freely discuss a certain
subject with the guidance of a facilitator or reporter
• homogeneous in terms of demographics and socioeconomic factors
but heterogeneous views
• experience related to product or issue being discussed
• 1/2 –2 hour session
• Qualified moderator
• conversation may be video and/or audiotape or notes may be taken

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 Thank you!!

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