While biomedical researchers may be able to follow instructions in the manuals accompanying the statistical software packages, they do not always have sufficient knowledge to choose the appropriate statistical methods and correctly interpret their results. Statistical Thinking in Epidemiology examines common methodological and statistical problems in the use of correlation and regression in medical and epidemiological research: mathematical coupling, regression to the mean, collinearity, the reversal paradox, and statistical interaction. Statistical Thinking in Epidemiology is about thinking statistically when looking at problems in epidemiology. The authors focus on several methods and look at them in detail: specific examples in epidemiology illustrate how different model specifications can imply different causal relationships amongst variables, and model interpretation is undertaken with appropriate consideration of the context of implicit or explicit causal relationships. This book is intended for applied statisticians and epidemiologists, but can also be very useful for clinical and applied health researchers who want to have a better understanding of statistical thinking. Throughout the book, statistical software packages R and Stata are used for general statistical modeling, and Amos and Mplus are used for structural equation modeling.

While biomedical researchers may be able to follow instructions in the manuals accompanying the statistical software packages, they do not always have sufficient knowledge to choose the appropriate statistical methods and correctly interpret their results. Statistical Thinking in Epidemiology examines common methodological and statistical problems in the use of correlation and regression in medical and epidemiological research: mathematical coupling, regression to the mean, collinearity, the reversal paradox, and statistical interaction. Statistical Thinking in Epidemiology is about thinking statistically when looking at problems in epidemiology. The authors focus on several methods and look at them in detail: specific examples in epidemiology illustrate how different model specifications can imply different causal relationships amongst variables, and model interpretation is undertaken with appropriate consideration of the context of implicit or explicit causal relationships. This book is intended for applied statisticians and epidemiologists, but can also be very useful for clinical and applied health researchers who want to have a better understanding of statistical thinking. Throughout the book, statistical software packages R and Stata are used for general statistical modeling, and Amos and Mplus are used for structural equation modeling.

Routine applications of advanced statistical methods on real data have become possible in the last ten years because desktop computers have become much more powerful and cheaper. However, proper understanding of the challenging statistical theory behind those methods remains essential for correct application and interpretation, and rarely seen in the medical literature. Modern Methods for Epidemiology provides a concise introduction to recent development in statistical methodologies for epidemiological and biomedical researchers. Many of these methods have become indispensible tools for researchers working in epidemiology and medicine but are rarely discussed in details by standard textbooks of biostatistics or epidemiology. Contributors of this book are experienced researchers and experts in their respective fields. This textbook provides a solid starting point for those who are new to epidemiology, and for those looking for guidance in more modern statistical approaches to observational epidemiology. Epidemiological and biomedical researchers who wish to overcome the mathematical barrier of applying those methods to their research will find this book an accessible and helpful reference for self-learning and research. This book is also a good source for teaching postgraduate students in medical statistics or epidemiology.

Routine applications of advanced statistical methods on real data have become possible in the last ten years because desktop computers have become much more powerful and cheaper. However, proper understanding of the challenging statistical theory behind those methods remains essential for correct application and interpretation, and rarely seen in the medical literature. Modern Methods for Epidemiology provides a concise introduction to recent development in statistical methodologies for epidemiological and biomedical researchers. Many of these methods have become indispensible tools for researchers working in epidemiology and medicine but are rarely discussed in details by standard textbooks of biostatistics or epidemiology. Contributors of this book are experienced researchers and experts in their respective fields. This textbook provides a solid starting point for those who are new to epidemiology, and for those looking for guidance in more modern statistical approaches to observational epidemiology. Epidemiological and biomedical researchers who wish to overcome the mathematical barrier of applying those methods to their research will find this book an accessible and helpful reference for self-learning and research. This book is also a good source for teaching postgraduate students in medical statistics or epidemiology.