Clinical trials have become essential research tools for evaluating the benefits and risks of new interventions for the treatment and prevention of diseases, from cardiovascular disease to cancer to AIDS. Based on the authors' collective experiences in this field, Introduction to Statistical Methods for Clinical Trials presents various statistical topics relevant to the design, monitoring, and analysis of a clinical trial.

After reviewing the history, ethics, protocol, and regulatory issues of clinical trials, the book provides guidelines for formulating primary and secondary questions and translating clinical questions into statistical ones. It examines designs used in clinical trials, presents methods for determining sample size, and introduces constrained randomization procedures. The authors also discuss how various types of data must be collected to answer key questions in a trial. In addition, they explore common analysis methods, describe statistical methods that determine what an emerging trend represents, and present issues that arise in the analysis of data. The book concludes with suggestions for reporting trial results that are consistent with universal guidelines recommended by medical journals.

Developed from a course taught at the University of Wisconsin for the past 25 years, this textbook provides a solid understanding of the statistical approaches used in the design, conduct, and analysis of clinical trials.

Foundations of Program Evaluation heralds a thorough exploration of the field of program evaluation--looking back on its origins. By summarizing, comparing, and contrasting the work of seven major theorists of program evaluation, this book provides an important perspective on the current state of evaluation theory and provides suggestions for ways of improving its practice. Beginning in Chapter Two, the authors develop a conceptual framework to analyze how successfully each theory meets the specific criteria of its framework. Each subsequent chapter is devoted to the presentation of the theoretical and practical advice of a significant theorist--Michael Scriven, Donald Campbell, Carol Weiss, Joseph Wholey, Robert Stake, Lee Cronbach, and Peter Rossi.

One of the myths about families in inner-city neighbourhoods is that they are characterized by poor parenting. The sociologist Frank Furstenberg and his colleagues explode this and other misconceptions about success, parenting, and socioeconomic advantage in this text. The book launches a series which focuses on how and why youth are able to overcome - rather than succumb to - social disadvantages. Based on more than 500 interviews and qualitative case studies of families in inner-city Philadelphia, the text reveals how parents managed different levels of resources and dangers in low-income neighbourhoods and how this management, rather than community involvement, contributed to the success of their children. The authors detail the factors that shape the trajectories of adolescents and in so doing provide information about programmes and services that should be useful to policy makers, sociologists, educators, and indeed anyone concerned with the fate of the urban poor.

Meta-Analysis for Explanation brings exemplary illustrations of research synthesis together with expert discussion of the use of meta-analytic techniques. Four meta-analyses prepared by Betsy Jane Becker, Elizabeth C. Devine, Mark W. Lipsey, and William R. Shadish reflect the variety of techniques available to quantitative reviewers. Framing these, chapters written by the authors offer a general overview of the field and a discussion of the scientific value of meta-analysis.