Introduction to Biostatistics Midterm Review

These flashcards cover key terminology and concepts related to biostatistics, as discussed in the lecture notes, to assist with exam preparation.

Ordinal Variable

A type of variable that represents categories with a meaningful order but not a consistent difference between them.

Mean Squared Error (MSE)

The average of the squared differences between estimated values and the true value.

Categorical Variable

A variable that can take on one of a limited and usually fixed number of possible values, assigning each individual or other unit of observation to a particular group.

Sensitivity of a Test

The probability that a test correctly identifies a condition when the condition is present.

Specificity of a Test

The probability that a test correctly identifies the absence of a condition when the condition is not present.

Standard Deviation

A measure of the amount of variation or dispersion in a set of values.

Placebo-Controlled Study

A study in which the effects of a drug are compared with a placebo, ensuring that neither researchers nor participants know who received the treatment.

Simple Random Sampling

A sampling method where every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected.

False Positive Rate

The rate at which a test incorrectly identifies a condition that is not present.

Central Limit Theorem

A statistical theory that states that the distribution of sample means approximates a normal distribution as the sample size becomes larger.

Bimodal Distribution

A distribution with two different modes or peaks.

Kurtosis

A statistic that measures the tails of a probability distribution.

Quasi-experimental Study

A study that examines the effect of an intervention without random assignment.

Voluntary Response Bias

A bias that occurs when participants self-select to be part of a sample.

Undercoverage

A sampling error where some members of the population are inadequately represented in the sample.

Outlier

A data point that differs significantly from other observations in the dataset.

Leptokurtic Distribution

A distribution that is more peaked than a normal distribution.

Platykurtic Distribution

A distribution that is flatter than a normal distribution.

Causal Relationship

A relationship where one event causes another event to occur.

Voluntary Bias

Bias introduced when participants choose to respond, leading to an unrepresentative sample.