The book has 410 pages with 118 figures. The approach is firmly embedded in medical research, all the methods described being illustrated with the use of real data, either from my own research or from the medical literature. Equations and formulae are given where appropriate and manual calculation is described, but the use of computers for calculations is emphasised, together with the graphical methods which computers make easy. For those who do not like to take things on trust, mathematical appendices are included which explain the derivation of the various statistical formulae, and graphical simulations are used to illustrate some of the more surprising statistical principles. The book begins with the design of clinical and epidemiological studies, then describes methods for summarising and presenting the data collected.
Next probability is introduced, and the ways in which it can be used to interpret data.
The most commonly used statistical methods are described, their assumptions and how these can be checked, their interpretation, and how to choose the appropriate method for the analysis of different types of data in various circumstances. Methods of particular relevance to medical studies are discussed, such as the estimation of reference ranges, the analysis of survival data, and the study of mortality. The book finishes with chapters on multifactorial analyses and the choice of sample size. Full solutions are given. The third edition was published in August 2000.