Making Sense Of Medical Statistics: A Bite Sized Visual Guide New Edition

"At first glance, medicine and numbers may appear far too much apart, but a closer inspection will tell a different story. In days gone by, people turned to ball-gazers in search of answers for health, happiness and future. We now live in a universe of big data. Where crystal balls, distant stars or dried bones once conspired to rule upon citizens' lives, information now reigns supreme. A random set of numbers is no good until we apply the powerful tool of data analysis. It is the best means we currentlyhave of making a meaningful pattern out of a group of random numbers. The insight we gain helps us to make predictions for the future. Statistics is our modern-day crystal ball: it is the collection and analysis of data that is our window to the past, interpreter of the present and guide to the future. With the widespread availability of statistical software, the calculation of statistics is no longer complicated. The key to getting the right answer from our crystal ball is to appreciate when to choose which statistics and to recognise the nuances of the reply"--