Principles of Statistics:
Emphasizing Applications in the Health Sciences
by Jenny A. Baglivo
Project Description: This project grew out of the need to develop a core course for students in the Connell School of Nursing (CSON) at Boston College. The course was designed to satisfy the principles for mathematics core courses offered at the university and to introduce students to the statistical language and principles needed to understand articles discussed in research-oriented courses given by CSON faculty members. The course has been given each year since 2007, and serves more than 100 students per year.
The project consists of a text plus four workbooks that are tailored to the specific time constraints of semester courses at Boston College. The first three chapters of the text include introductory material on study design and on techniques for summarizing data. The next two chapters introduce probability theory and the families of probability distributions that will be used extensively in applications. The next six chapters introduce statistical inference and applications of statistical inference.
Audience: The materials are suitable for an introductory level course in the principles of probability and statistics for students interested in the health sciences. Prior knowledge of probability and statistics is not assumed.
Additional Information and Acknowledgements: The initial work on this project was supported through the Boston College Teaching and Mentoring Grant Program during the 2006-07 academic year. Dr. Wei Tao, Principal Psychometrician at American College Testing (ACT), Inc., provided expert assistance during the 2006-07 academic year when she was a doctoral candidate in the Educational Research, Measurement & Evaluation program in the Lynch School of Education at Boston College.
Materials have been updated each year based on feedback from students and instructors. I gratefully acknowledge the feedback I received from the many instructors who used the course materials at various stages of development, and the logistical support and guidance I received from administrators in the Connell School of Nursing. Finally, I have enjoyed working with the CSON students of Boston College. They are an energetic and dedicated group of young people, and I am proud to have been their professor.
The text Principles of Statistics: Emphasizing Applications in the Health Sciences by Jenny A. Baglivo can be obtained here.
Copyright 2019 by Jenny A. Baglivo. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.