AAPM&R-RPC: Resident’s
Research Packet
Statistics
As a
researcher, you should have an understanding of some basic statistical terms,
concepts, and tests. You should understand which test applies to which type of
data and what the results of the test mean. Fortunately, you do not
necessarily need to know how to perform any of the tests mathematically as a
computer will do this for you. However, most research projects will need the
advice of a statistician, preferably one who has acquired some medical
background by working with other clinicians. You should seek a
statistician’s advice when planning any study so that your sample size is
adequate to prove your hypothesis (a process called “power analysis”). In
addition, the statistician may be aware of more sophisticated techniques which
can be used to analyze your data. Appendix D contains a review of basic
statistical concepts. A number of useful articles and books are listed below
in the reference section.
If
you wish to do your own statistics, you will need a computer program to assist
you. Ideally, the computer you use should have graphical capabilities to allow
you to look at histograms, scatter plots, graphs, etc. with your data. Many
easy and excellent statistics programs are now available for use on personal
computers. Student versions of these programs are available at some
institutions for $50 or less. There are probably several programs available
for your use within your department. Ask around before you buy one for
yourself.
References On Statistics
-
Colton T. Statistics
in medicine. Boston, MA: Little, Brown and Company; 1974.
-
Hassard TH. Understanding
biostatistics. St. Louis, MO: Mosby Year Book, Inc.; 1991.
-
Norman GR, et
al. PDQ statistics.
2nd ed. St.
Louis, MO: Mosby; 1997.
-
Basic
and clinical biostatistics. Norwalk, CT: Appleton and Lange.
(serial publication)
-
Shott S. Statistics
for health professionals. Philadelphia, PA: Saunders; 1990.
-
Daniel WW.
Biostatistics: a
foundation for analysis in the health sciences. New York, NY: John
Wiley and Sons; 1999.
-
Michael
L. Boninger, Leighton Chan, Richard Harvey, Charles E. Levy, Christopher
J. Garrison, Wendy Helkowski, Thao Tran, Zack Pine, Harvey Levin.
A Practical Approach to Resident Research Education in Physical
Medicine and Rehabilitation. In
press, American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.
-
General
Overview:
http://members.aol.com/johnp71/javastat.html
-
Chi
Square Calculator:
http://davidmlane.com/hyperstat/chi_square.html
-
Poisson's
calculator:
http://www.swogstat.org/stat/public/poisson_calculator.htm
-
Z
distribution:
http://www.csun.edu/~vchsc006/469/z.html
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