CHAPTER 1 Biostatistics 101 7

Chapter 1

Biostatistics 101

B

iostatistics deals with the design and execution of scientific studies involv-

ing biology, the acquisition and analysis of data from those studies, and the

interpretation and presentation of the results of those analyses. This book

is meant to be a useful and easy-to-understand companion to the more formal

textbooks used in graduate-level biostatistics courses. Because most of these

courses teach how to analyze data from epidemiologic studies and clinical trials,

this book focuses on that as well. In this first chapter, we introduce you to the

fundamentals of biostatistics.

Brushing Up on Math and Stats Basics

Chapters 2 and 3 are designed to bring you up to speed on the basic math and sta-

tistical background that’s needed to understand biostatistics and give you supple-

mentary information or context that you may find useful while reading the rest of

this book.»

» ^{Many people feel unsure of themselves when it comes to understanding}

mathematical formulas and equations. Although this book contains fewer

IN THIS CHAPTER»

» ^{Getting up to speed on the}

prerequisites for biostatistics»

» ^{Understanding the human research}

environment»

» ^{Surveying the specific procedures}

used to analyze biological data»

» ^{Estimating how many participants}

you need»

» ^{Working with distributions}