Clinical research attempts to answer questions about patient populations by studying small samples of patients drawn from those populations. Statistics are used to describe the data collected in a study and to make inferences about the larger populations. Practitioners of evidence-based practice need a basic understanding of these principles to critically appraise the results of research studies. The main paradigm for statistical inference in medicine is called hypothesis testing, which involves generating a null hypothesis and examining the strength of evidence against it.
Keywords: Biostatistics; Clinical epidemiology; Evidence-based medicine; Evidence-based practice.
Published by Elsevier Inc.