Introduction to Biostatistics

These flashcards cover fundamental concepts in biostatistics as outlined in the lecture notes.

What is statistics?

Statistics is the science of learning from experience.

What is the limitation of human reasoning in statistics?

Humans are not good at picking out patterns from noisy data and often see non-existent patterns from small numbers of observations.

Why is biostatistics important in medicine and public health?

Biostatistics helps in making informed decisions in the presence of uncertainty about medical treatment and public health measures.

What is the definition of population in statistics?

The class of people that scientists want to make generalizations about.

What is a sample?

A small portion of the population studied to make generalizations about the entire population.

What is inference in statistics?

The process of making generalizations about a population based on a sample.

What are the three basic questions in statistics?

1. How should I collect my data? 2. How should I describe and summarize the data collected? 3. What does my data tell me about the way that the world works?

What are parameters in statistics?

Numerical facts about the population that the investigator is interested in, such as rates or averages.

How do investigators obtain estimates?

Estimates are computed from the sample data to approximate the parameters of the population.

What are the two major issues regarding estimates?

1. Whether the estimate is centered around the right answer or is biased. 2. The amount of variability likely to be in the estimate.