STATISTICS

DR. ABIYE SOMIARI

(INTRODUCTION)
HEALTH
UNIPORT
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OUTLINE
• Introduction to statistics
• Scope/Types of statistics
• Role of statistics in health
• Types of data
• Sources of data
• Components of a datum
• Types of variables
• Scales of measurements
• Revision exercises
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INTRODUCTION
Statistics in health refers to activities related to collection,
organization, analysis and interpretation of medical or health data.
Biostatistics: It is the application of statistical reasoning and
methods to solve biological, medical and public health problems.
Biostatistics: Also refers to the scientific use of quantitative
information to describe or draw inferences about natural
phenomena
– scientific: accepted theory (ideas) and practice; ethical standards
– quantitative information: data reflecting variation in
populations
– inference: to conclude or surmise from evidence

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INTRODUCTION
USES OF STATISTICAL METHODS:
The 3 main uses of statistical methods are:
1. To collect data: This includes methods of designing forms for
data collection, designing and executing research and
conducting surveys for a population
2. To describe the characteristics of a group through data
summary and presentation
3. To analyze and draw conclusions

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COMMON TERMS IN
STATISTICS
A population is the entire possible units of analysis of interest or all
possible sample units.
A sample is a subset of a population i.e. drawn from it.
A sample is sometimes called a “sample population” and the “population”
called a “target population” or study population.
Sample size is the derived number of the subset of the population to be
selected for study.
Sampling is the process of selection of the sample; often termed
“sampling method” or “sampling technique”.
When we have information on the entire population the descriptive
information we generate from the population is the parameter.
If the information is based on the sample, the descriptive measure
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SCOPE/TYPES OF
STATISTICS
A) Descriptive Statistics: it is a statistical method that deals with
description of a characteristic about a finite study group without drawing
conclusions.
• It is observed through the use of data presentation and other summary
measures.
• Descriptive statistics are essentially the summary statistics computed
based on data.
• Summary statistics are derived from the basic statistical methods used in
analysis to reduce or ‘summarize’ the observations or values in a data set.
• They include measures of centrality, dispersion, partition, etc. that derive
‘statistics’ such as mean, standard deviation, IQR, proportion, etc.

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SCOPE/TYPES OF
STATISTICS
B) Inferential Statistics: They are measures used to make or
draw statistical inference about a population from sample based
data.
• To draw conclusions about a population from data obtained from a
sample taken from it, requires a new set of statistical methods. That
branch of statistics or the methods used are called “inferential
statistics”.
• Examples of such methods include Confidence Intervals and
Tests of Significance.
C) Probability: It is applied in drawing conclusions which are not
absolutely certain
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DEDUCTIVE AND
INDUCTIVE REASONING
• Deductive Reasoning: From what we observe from a population,
we draw conclusions to the sample e.g. all Calabar women are
obese hence this obese person is from Calabar.
• Inductive Reasoning: From what we observe from the sample,
we draw conclusions to the population e.g. this obese person is
from Calabar, hence all Calabar women are obese.

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ROLE OF STATISTICS IN
PUBLIC HEALTH
• Helps in the diagnosis of patients ailments and in community
health
• Prognosis of likely outcome of a disease or intervention
programme in a community
• Selection of appropriate intervention for a patient or community
• For health planning purposes
• For the planning and conduct of research

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TYPES OF DATA
PRIMARY DATA SECONDARY DATA
These are obtained by an These are obtained from
investigator through surveys. published works such as
Example: Cross sectional journals, indexes, annual
surveys or longitudinal reports, bibliographies,
survey textbooks and encyclopedia.

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SOURCES OF DATA
ROUTINE OR REGULAR
- Census
- Vital Registration systems
- Institutions/Health services (school health, hospitals, health centers,
Veterinary Clinics).
- Disease surveillance and Notification (infectious diseases, cancer
registries).
NON-ROUTINE OR AD-HOC
- Surveys and Experiments.
 Planned studies (research); Well designed with measurable objectives.
- Special sample surveys
 Ad-hoc survey on environmental health; Monitoring of potentially
harmful chemical, biological and physical agents.
- Clinical Trials
- Therapeutic Trials
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 COMPONENTS OF A
DATUM
The raw material of statistics is data. For our purposes we may
define data as numbers.
The two kinds of numbers that we use in statistics are numbers that
result from the taking (in the usual sense of the term) of a
measurement and those that result from the process of counting.
For example, when a nurse weighs a patient or takes a patient’s
temperature or counts the number of patients in a ward, a
measurement, consisting of a number such as 70 kilograms or 35
degrees Centigrade or 20 patients is obtained.
Each of the three numbers is a datum, and the three taken together
are data.
Simply put, datum (singular) is a single measurement 13 or
COMPONENTS OF A
DATUM
UNIT OF VARIABL VALUES
ANALYSI E
S subject
• The • Characteristic • These
of interest s of the unit are
E.g. Human of analysis response
respondent that can s linking
s, sample assume unit of
for analysis different analysis
values. &
variables

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TYPES OF
VARIABLES/DATA
• Variables can be classified as Qualitative or Quantitative.
• Qualitative variables: They are variables that can be placed into distinct
categories, according to some characteristic or attribute. They are
commonly called categorical variables. E.g. If subjects are classified
according to gender (male or female), then the variable gender is
qualitative.
• Qualitative variables can be dichotomous (2 mutually exclusive
categories) e.g. Gender: male/female; Survival status: alive/dead; yes/no
etc. or multichotomous (more than 2 categories) e.g. Genotype, blood
group, marital status
• Qualitative variables may also follow a natural order of progression. E.g.
Staging of a disease.
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TYPES OF VARIABLES
• Quantitative variables: They are numerical and can be ordered or
ranked. For example, the variable age is numerical, and people can
be ranked in order according to the value of their ages.
• Quantitative variables can be further classified into two groups:
discrete and continuous.
• Discrete variables can be assigned values such as 0, 1, 2, 3 and
are said to be countable. i.e. They assume values that can be counted
and do not contain fractions. E.g. Number of children in a family,
number of students in a school etc.
• Continuous variables can assume an infinite number of values
between any two specific values. They are obtained by measuring.
They often include fractions and decimals. 16
SCALES OF
MEASUREMENT
• In addition to being classified as qualitative or quantitative,
variables can be classified by how they are categorized, counted,
or measured.
• For example, can the data be organized into specific categories,
such as area of residence (rural, suburban, or urban)? Can the
data values be ranked, such as first place, second place, etc.? Or
are the values obtained from measurement, such as heights, IQs,
or temperature?
• This type of classification—i.e., how variables are categorized,
counted, or measured—uses measurement scales
• There are four common types of scales used: nominal,
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ordinal, interval, and ratio.
SCALES OF
MEASUREMENT
• Nominal Scale: The nominal level of measurement classifies
data into mutually exclusive (non-overlapping), exhausting
categories in which no order or ranking can be imposed on the
data.
• Even though numbers can be assigned to the categories, there
is no meaningful order or ranking.
• Examples include Religion, Gender, Political party

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 SCALES OF
MEASUREMENT
• Ordinal Scale: The next level of measurement is called the
ordinal level. Data measured at this level can be placed into
categories, and these categories can be ordered, or ranked.
• Precise measurement of differences in the ordinal level of
measurement does not exist. For instance, when people are
classified according to their build (small, medium, or large), a large
variation exists among the individuals in each class.
• Example include Social class, levels of disease etc.

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SCALES OF
MEASUREMENT
• Interval Scale: This level differs from the ordinal level in that
precise differences exist between units.
• IQ is an example of such a variable. There is a meaningful
difference of 1 point between an IQ of 109 and an IQ of 110.
• Temperature is another example of interval measurement, since
there is a meaningful difference of 1F between each unit, such as
72 and 73F.
• There is however no true zero on the interval scale. For
example, IQ tests do not measure people who have no
intelligence. For temperature, 0 F does not mean no heat at all.
Another example is location (0 longitude)
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SCALES OF
MEASUREMENT
•Ratio Scale: Ratio scale possesses all the characteristics of interval
measurement, and there exists a true zero.
• Ratio scales have differences between units (1 inch, 1 pound, etc.) and a
true zero.
• In addition, the ratio scale contains a true ratio between values. For
example, if one person can lift 200 pounds and another can lift 100
pounds, then the ratio between them is 2 to 1. Put another way, the first
person can lift twice as much as the second person.
• A number of continuous variables can be measured on a ratio scale. E.g.
height, weight, age
• N/B: Data can be altered so that they fit into a different category
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REVISION EXERCISE
1. The chart shows the number of job-related injuries for each of the
transportation industries for 1998
Type of Industry Number of injuries
Railroad 4520
Intercity bus 5100
Subway 6850
Trucking 7144
Aviation 9950
1. What are the variables under study?
2. Classify the variable
3. Categorize the quantitative variable as discrete or continuous.
4. Identify the level of measurement for each variable. 22
REVISION EXERCISE
2. Classify each as nominal-level, ordinal-level, interval-level or ratio-
level measurement.
a. Pages in the city of Cleveland telephone book.
b. Rankings of tennis players.
c. Weights of air conditioners.
d. Temperatures inside 10 refrigerators.
e. Salaries of the top five CEOs in the United States.
f. Ratings of eight local plays (poor, fair, good, excellent).
g. Times required for mechanics to do a tune-up.
h. Ages of students in a classroom.
i. Marital status of patients in a physician’s office.
j. Horsepower of tractor engines 23
THANK YOU

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