Statistics Flashcards
Accuracy
- how close the measurement is to the true value
- compared to a gold standard
alpha error
probability of Type I error
beta
type II error
bias
outcome differs from the correct answer
in a systematic non-random way
biased studies
- subjects in group 1 differ from subjects in group 2
- in a meaningful way that will affect the conclusions
cohort
its a group with common characteristics
confidence interval
- The 95% confidence interval defines a range of values that you can be 95% certain contains the population mean. With large samples, you know that mean with much more precision than you do with a small sample, so the confidence interval is quite narrow when computed from a large sample.
- the true parameter (such as the mean) is expected to fall within this range
- Most commonly, the 95% confidence level is used
- Factors affecting the width of the confidence interval include
- the size of the sample,
- the confidence level,
- the variability in the sample.
- A larger sample size normally will lead to a better estimate of the population parameter.
- is a range of likely values for the population parameter based on: the point estimate, e.g., the sample mean
counfounding variable or factor
- when 2 variables are related to a 3rd variable
- one might or might not know the factor is related to the 2 principle variables
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Dependent variable
- its the outcome or effect
- for example visual acuity
independent variable
null hypothesis
there is no significant difference between specified populations, any observed difference being due to sampling or experimental error.
normal
its a Gaussian or bell-shaped curve distribution
power
probability of finding a true difference
regression
how much a dependent variable Y changes based on changes of the independent variable
type I error
- if we reject the null hypothesis when in fact it is true
- its alpha error
- we reject the null hypothesis if p<0.05
- so the groups are different
- but in reality, they are not
type II error
- its the beta error
- when we accept the null hypothesis when in fact, it is FALSE
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what are the 2 ways of missinterpreting p value?
and what to do to avoid missinterpretation?
- a p value >0.05
- thought to be non-significant
- “no effect” or “no difference”
- THE CORRECT interpretation should be:
- The is no strong evidence that the intervention has an effect
- no strong evidence that there is a difference
- THE CORRECT interpretation should be:
- ALWAYS CHECK THE P VALUE WITH THE CI
what to look for in the Confidence interval?
- you want a NARROW RANGE
- the wider the range, the worse
- the RESULT falls within that range with X% of conficence
give examples of categorical variables
- male/female
- republican/democrat
- pass/fail
- yes/no
- etc…..
what test to use to measure the association between categorical variables?
Chi square
what test to use to the correlation between
continuous variables?
correlation
regression
which is the most common measure of correlation?
how do you interpret?
- the R value (Pearson coefficient
- R ranges from -1 to +1
- 0 means no correlation
- the farther from 0 the better
what test to use to measure association
between categorical variables
when to use each?
- chi square and fisher exact test
- if small numbers (small n) use FISHER
- the chi squre is an aprox of the fisher so use chi2 when you have large numbers