Good Biostatistics / Epidemiology Introductory sources

[TheRealDrDorian]

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Hi all-

I'm looking to get a base understanding of how medical research statistics work, and was having trouble finding good sources (online or print). If anyone has any they found helpful, I would greatly appreciate the information. Thanks in advance!

 

[EpiGirl]

I can recommend Biostatistics: How it Works by Steve Selvin. I took his introductory Biostat class at Berkeley and that was the textbook we used. I had no previous statistical coursework at the time. It's clearly written, even entertaining, and I think it would be a good place to start if you're interested in statistics with broad applications in medicine. Definitely work the problem sets and don't just read.

If you're looking for books more specifically oriented to epidemiology, a lot of people start with Ken Rothman's Epidemiology: An Introduction. Rothman's a big star in the field, and has written several textbooks so you can't really go wrong with him. David Kleinbaum from Emory has a popular textbook too, but I can't remember the title at the moment.

 

[tbo]

Doug(?) Altman's "Practical Statistics for Medical Research" is used quite frequently in Intro Biostats courses. It's somewhat math-heavy, but palatable.

For clinical research, try Hulley's "Designing Clinical Research". This is a good practical intro to clinical research as a whole.