Mohammed Meah - Essential Statistics for Bioscientists

Having taught bioscience students for more than 25 years, I am clear that more help, guidance and resources should be made available to students in using statistics and displaying data. This book is intended for all undergraduate students at levels four (year 1), five (year 2) and six (year 3), studying the biological sciences (biomedical science, medical physiology, pharmacology, pharmaceutical science, human biology, biochemistry, microbiology, and biotechnology). Although most examples are drawn from the biological sciences, the statistical methods and tests covered in the book are applicable and useful for (i) students in other disciplines in medical and health subjects, including medicine, physiotherapy, podiatry, nursing, pharmacy, dentistry, and sports science, (ii) postgraduate research, and (iii) a quick refresher for those who are rusty on statistics and using statistics software.

The book starts from a basic level and builds in complexity, allowing readers to dip into the area they are more familiar with. It does not assume any prior knowledge of the area. The book layout is as follows:

The appendices have sections on common formulas and symbols, deciding on sample size, historical milestones in statistics, background to Prism, answers to sample problems, and reference tables of critical values for statistical tests.

This book is not comprehensive in its coverage (the focus is on the most commonly used statistical tests in biomedical science) as that would have increased the size and complexity of the book. I have tried to keep the mathematical input to a minimum; however, there are areas such as analysis of variance where this was unavoidable. For those who want more depth and detail in maths and statistics, suggestions for further reading are provided. This book does not cover qualitative analysis (e.g. interviewee responses, social context, interactions with people).

This book:

1 Introduces statistical terms and analysis from the basics to a more advanced level.

2 Shows clear step by step use of three common software used in analysing data and producing graphs.

3 Uses examples of common statistical tests.

4 Does not describe areas such as enzyme and substrate reactions (e.g. Scatchard plots), or non-linear curve fitting or multiple regression.

5 Helps in deciding the factors to consider for study designs.

6 Helps in choosing appropriate tests to analyse data and to display data.

The reader should be able to answer the following questions from the use of this book.

What:

Is your study design?

Sample size is appropriate?

Are the descriptive statistics appropriate for the sample data?

Is the difference between standard deviation and standard error of the mean?

Is a confidence interval?

Is a normal distribution?

Is significance and how do you test for it?

Is the interquartile range?

Is the difference between parametric and non-parametric tests?

How do you:

Graphically describe your data?

Plot a frequency distribution plot?

Check if the sample data is normally distributed?

Decide on which statistical test to use?

Do a paired (related groups) t test?

Do an unpaired (independent groups) t test?

Do a non-parametric test (Wilcoxon)?

Do a non-parametric test (Mann–Whitney)?

Do a 1-way ANOVA test?

Do a repeated measures 1-way ANOVA?

Do a 2-way ANOVA test?

Do a correlation test?

Use Microsoft Excel software to do statistical analysis?

Use SPSS software to do statistical analysis?

Use Prism software to do statistical analysis?

I hope the readers and users of this book will (a) get a better understanding of statistical concepts and (b) be able to use the software packages with more confidence and thereby aid them in their degree studies.

Mohammed Meah BSc MSc PhD FHEA

Senior Lecturer in Physiology

Course Leader for Medical Physiology and Human Biology

University of East London,

London

“ It would be so nice if something made sense for a change.”

Lewis Carroll (1832–1898), English novelist. From the book Alice in Wonderland

Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.