Basic concepts and terminology in

Biostatistics

By
Dr. Shaik Shaffi Ahamed
Professor
Dept. of Family & Community Medicine
KKUH
 Objectives of this session
• Definition of statistics and biostatistics
• To understand different Levels of measurements
• To understand different Types of data
• To use these concepts appropriately
 Statistics is the science
of conducting studies to
collect, organize,
summarize, analyze,
present, interpret and
draw conclusions from
data.

Any values (observations or measurements) that

have been collected

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 What is Statistics?
1. Collecting Data
e.g., Sample, Survey,
Observe, Data Why?
Simulate Analysis
2. Characterizing Data
e.g., Organize/Classify,
Count, Summarize
3. Presenting Data Decision-
e.g., Tables, Charts, Making
Statements
4. Interpreting Results
e.g. Infer, Conclude,
Specify Confidence

© 1984-1994 T/Maker Co.

 Business,
Economics, Engineering, Mathematics,Physical
Marketing, Sciences,
Computer Science Astronomy,Education

Public Health &

Medicine Areas where
Epidemiology, STATISTICS
Pharmacology, are used Environment,
Genetics,, Agriculture,
Ecology, Forestry,
Animal Populations

Government
Census, Planning,
National Defense
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Biostatistics is the science
that helps in managing
medical uncertainties
and variability of data
 “Biostatistics”
• Statistics arising out of biological sciences, particularly
from the fields of medicine and public health.
• The methods used in dealing with statistics in the fields of
medicine, biology and public health for planning,
conducting and analyzing data which arise in investigations
of these branches.
 Basic Concepts
Data : Set of values of one or more variables recorded on
one or more observational units (singular: Datum)

Sources of data 1. Routinely kept records

2. Surveys (census)
3. Experiments
4. External source
Categories of data
1. Primary data: observation, questionnaire, record form,
interviews, survey,
2. Secondary data: census, medical record, registry
 Datasets and Data Tables

Dataset: Data for a set of variables collection in

group of persons.

Data Table: A dataset organized into a table,

with one column for each variable and one row
for each person.
 Typical Data Table

OBS AGE BMI FFNUM TEMP( 0F) GENDER EXERCISE LEVEL QUESTION

1 26 23.2 0 61.0 0 1 1

2 30 30.2 9 65.5 1 3 2

3 32 28.9 17 59.6 1 3 4

4 37 22.4 1 68.4 1 2 3
5 33 25.5 7 64.5 0 3 5

6 29 22.3 1 70.2 0 2 2

7 32 23.0 0 67.3 0 1 1

8 33 26.3 1 72.8 0 3 1

9 32 22.2 3 71.5 0 1 4

10 33 29.1 5 63.2 1 1 4
11 26 20.8 2 69.1 0 1 3

12 34 20.9 4 73.6 0 2 3

13 31 36.3 1 66.3 0 2 5

14 31 36.4 0 66.9 1 1 5

15 27 28.6 2 70.2 1 2 2
16 36 27.5 2 68.5 1 3 3

17 35 25.6 143 67.8 1 3 4

18 31 21.2 11 70.7 1 1 2

19 36 22.7 8 69.8 0 2 1

20 33 28.1 3 67.8 0 2 1
 Definitions for Variables

• AGE: Age in years

• BMI: Body mass index, weight/height2 in kg/m2
• FFNUM: The average number of times eating “fast food”
in a week
• TEMP: High temperature for the day
• GENDER: 1- Female 0- Male
• EXERCISE LEVEL: 1- Low 2- Medium 3- High
• QUESTION: what is your satisfaction rating for this
Biostatistics session ?
1- Very Satisfied 2- Somewhat Satisfied 3- Neutral
4- Somewhat dissatisfied 5- Dissatisfied
 Types of variables and data

• When collecting or gathering data we collect data from

individuals cases on particular variables.
• A variable is a unit of data collection whose value can vary.
• Variables can be defined into types according to the level of
mathematical scaling that can be carried out on the data.
• There are four types of data or levels of measurement:

1. Nominal 2. Ordinal
3. Interval 4. Ratio
Scales of Measurement
 Nominal scale variables
• A type of categorical data in which objects fall into
unordered categories.

• Studies measuring nominal data must ensure that each

category is mutually exclusive and the system of
measurement needs to be exhaustive.

• Variables that have only two responses i.e. Yes or no, are
known as dichotomies.
 Ordinal Scale variables
• Ordinal data is data that comprises of categories that can be
rank ordered.

• Similarly with nominal data the distance between each category

cannot be calculated but the categories can be ranked above or
below each other.
 Interval Scale Variables
• Fahrenheit temperature scale- zero is arbitrary- 40 degrees is
not twice as hot as 20 degrees.
• IQ tests. No such thing as zero IQ. 120 IQ not twice as
intelligent as 60.
• Question- Can we assume that attitudinal data represents real,
quantifiable measured categories? (i.e.. That ‘very happy’ is
twice as happy as plain ‘happy’ or that ‘very unhappy’ means
no happiness at all). “Statisticians not in agreement on this”.
 Ratio Scale Variables
• The distance between any two adjacent units of measurement
(intervals) is the same and there is a meaningful zero point.
• Income- someone earning SAR20,000 earns twice as much as
someone who earns SAR10,000.
• Height

• Weight

• Age
 Hierarchical data order

These levels of measurement can be placed in hierarchical order.

 Hierarchical data order

• Nominal data is the least complex and give a simple measure of

whether objects are the same or different.
• Ordinal data maintains the principles of nominal data but adds a
measure of order to what is being observed.
• Interval data builds on ordinal by adding more information on
the range between each observation by allowing us to measure
the distance between objects.
• Ratio data adds to interval with including an absolute zero.
 Categorical Data

• The objects being studied are grouped into categories

based on some qualitative trait.
• The resulting data are merely labels or categories.
• Nominal and Ordinal scales will be used for categorical
data or qualitative data.
 Categorical data

Nominal Ordinal
data data
 Examples of Nominal Data
• Type of car
BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, Toyota, etc.,
• Ethnicity
White British, afro-caribbean, Asian, Arab, Chinese,
other, etc.
• Smoking status
Smoker, non-smoker
 Binary Data
• A type of categorical data in which there are only two
categories.
Examples:
• Smoking status- smoker, non-smoker
• Attendance- present, absent
• Result of a exam- pass, fail
• Status of student- undergraduate, postgraduate
 Examples of Ordinal Data
• Grades in exam- A+, A, B+ B, C+, C ,D , D+, and fail.

• Degree of illness- none, mild, moderate, acute, chronic.

• Opinion of students about stats classes-

Very unhappy, unhappy, neutral, happy, ecstatic!
 Examples of categorical (nominal &
ordinal) data
• Eye color
Blue, brown, black, green, etc.
• Smoking status
Smoker, non-smoker
• Attitudes towards the death penalty
Strongly disagree, disagree, neutral, agree, strongly agree.
 Nominal data (Binary) & Ordinal data
What is your
Examples gender? (please tick)

Male Did you enjoy the

Female teaching session ?
(please tick)

What is the level of satisfaction with

the new curriculum at a medical Yes
school received? (please tick) No

Very satisfied
Somewhat satisfied
Neutral
Somewhat dissatisfied
Very dissatisfied
 Quantitative Data
• The objects being studied are ‘measured’ based on some
quantitative trait.
• The resulting data are set of numbers.
• Interval and Ratio scales will be used to measure
quantitative data.
Examples
• Pulse Rate
• Height
• Age
• Exam marks
• Time to complete a Bio-statistics exam
• Number of cigarettes smoked
 Quantitative
data

Discrete Continuous
 Discrete Data
Only certain values are possible (there are gaps between
the possible values). Implies counting.

Continuous Data
Theoretically, with a fine enough measuring device. Implies
measuring.
Discrete data -- Gaps between possible values

Number of Children

Continuous data -- Theoretically,

no gaps between possible values

Hb
 Examples of Discrete Data
• Number of children in a family
• Number of students passing a stats exam
• Number of crimes reported to the police
• Number of bicycles sold in a day.
Generally, discrete data are counts.
We would not expect to find 2.2 children in a family or 88.5
students passing an exam or 127.2 crimes being reported to
the police or half a bicycle being sold in one day.
 Example of Continuous Data
• Age ( in years)
• Height( in cms.)
• Weight (in Kgs.)
• Sys.BP, Hb., Etc.,
Generally, continuous data come from
measurements.
Relationships between Variables

Variables

Categorical Quantitative

Continuous
Ordinal Discrete
Nominal (counting) (measuring)
 CONTINUOUS DATA

QUALITATIVE DATA

Wt. (In kg.) : Under wt, normal & over wt.

Ht. (In cm.): Short, medium & tall
 Table 1 Distribution of blunt injured patients
according to hospital length of stay
hospital length of stay Number Percent
1 – 3 days 5891 43.3
4 – 7 days 3489 25.6
2 weeks 2449 18.0
3 weeks 813 6.0
1 month 417 3.1
More than 1 month 545 4.0
Total 14604 100.0
Mean = 7.85 SE = 0.10
 Clinimetrics
A science called clinimetrics in which qualities are
converted to meaningful quantities by using the
scoring system.

Examples:
(1) Apgar score based on appearance, pulse, grimace,
activity and respiration is used for neonatal prognosis.
(2) Smoking index: no. of cigarettes, duration, filter or not,
whether pipe, cigar etc.,
(3) APACHE (Acute Physiology and Chronic Health
Evaluation) score: to quantify the severity of condition of
a patient
Data types –
important?
• Why do we need to know what type of data we
are dealing with?
• The data type or level of measurement
influences the type of statistical analysis
techniques that can be used when analysing data.
 To conclude
Type of variables in any data set are:
Categorical(Qualitative)
&
Quantitative
Whereas the scales to measure these
two variables are:
Nominal, Ordinal, Interval and Ratio
scales
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