Practical Statistics for Medical Research,   ISBN:9780412276309

Customer Rating: 

This author stands out in both how understandable he makes statistical concepts and on statistical accuracy (something surprisingly missing in many medical statistics textbooks). There is a particularly good section on pitfalls and benefits of computer software. When more complicated tests are advised (beyond what an intro text can explain), he gives sources for further information. Highly recommended. (The only complaint is that the "new" edition was supposed to come in 2008 or 2010 or 2011...)

Customer Rating: 

Best book ever if you want to understand medical statistics. If you need a fast and easy way to find out whitch method to use for any statistical problem in medical research, this is the book you can't live without.

Customer Rating: 

This is a very well written and popular text on biostatistics. Altman writes for non-statisticians but the book is best suited for those with at least one prior course in statistics and those who have had mathematics through high school algebra. Emphasis is placed on the important practical problems. Good statistical designs and analyses are emphasized. The pitfalls with many published medical articles are discussed in Chapter 16.
I used this book to teach a 20 lecture course to students (engineers, clinicians and computer scientists) at Pacesetter in 1998 and at Biosense Webster in 1999 (both medical device companies that employed me as senior biostatistician). It was a good refresher course for the CRAs and engineers and it helped to make it easier for me to work with them on their statistical problems.

I have also taught a similar course to undergraduate students in the Health Science Department at Cal State Long Beach. Altman's book is a little too advanced to use as a text for that course but I did use it as a reference and covered material in Chapter 16 at the end of the course. Clear discussion of the medical literature is very important to these students and Altman does a great job!

Customer Rating: 

Ths is a good support for clinicians who are preparing a clinical trial, a randomized study or more simply a descriptive study on a patient population.

Customer Rating: 

I sent this book back at once. This is for the mathematically inclined, full of formulas and such. There is very little 'practical' information, except you consider mathemathical formulas practical information. As a person who does not have time to immerse oneself in the subject that way, I would appreciate a different approach eg. 'if your data looks like this, then use test X and not test Y because it gives you better blablabla....". You get the idea.

It is probably a useful text for those who wish to pursue an MPH or major in statistics. 'Practical statistics for medical research' is in fact not for the physician researcher but for the statistician who is usually on board these days.