EPI834: Biostatistics, Data Management and Analysis

Flashcards covering key vocabulary and concepts from the EPI834 Biostatistics lecture.

Biostatistics

A branch of applied statistics that applies statistical methods to medical and biological problems.

Statistics

The science of conducting studies to collect, organize, summarize, and analyze data to draw conclusions.

Variable

A characteristic that can take different values, such as age, weight, height, marital status, or smoking habits.

Quantitative Variable

Numerical variables that can be ordered or ranked, e.g. age or height.

Qualitative Variable

Variables that yield observations that can be categorized, such as sex or marital status.

Discrete Variable

A type of quantitative variable that can take distinct, separate whole number values.

Continuous Variable

A type of quantitative variable that can take any value between two specific values, including fractions and decimals.

Descriptive Statistics

Methods for organizing and describing data using tables, graphs, and summary measures.

Inferential Statistics

The process of drawing conclusions about a population based on data collected from a sample.

Frequency Table

A table that displays the frequency of different outcomes in a dataset.

Relative Frequency

The proportion of observations in a category relative to the total number of observations.

Cumulative Frequency

A running total of frequencies up to and including a given class.

Raw Data

Data in its original form before processing or analysis.

Grouped Data

Data presented in a frequency distribution table with class intervals.

Bar Graph

A graph used to display categorical data where the height of the bars represents frequency or relative frequency.

Histogram

A graph that presents the frequencies of continuous data.

Box and Whisker Plot

A plot that displays the distribution of a continuous variable, showing the minimum, lower quartile, median, upper quartile, and maximum.

Sample

A subset of a population used to draw inferences about the whole population.

Population

The entire group of individuals or events that we are interested in studying.

Parameter

A computed value that describes characteristics of an entire population.

Statistic

Any quantity computed from a sample.

Sampling Error

The difference between an estimate obtained from a sample and the true population value.

Outcome Variable

The variable that is measured to assess the effect of a treatment or intervention.

Odds Ratio

A measure of association between exposure and an outcome, calculated in case-control studies.

Relative Risk

The ratio of the probability of an event occurring in an exposed group versus a non-exposed group.