Abstract
In this chapter we review common statistical methods used in medical studies and, in particular, in the field of rheumatology. We look at the choice of descriptive statistics, at statistical approaches for the comparison of treatments, and at methods to evaluate relationships between measurements. The reader is also introduced to Bayesian methods that have gained considerable popularity among statisticians and epidemiologists during the last decade. The focus will be on the intuitive ideas behind the methods rather than on their technical aspects. Practical guidelines are provided throughout the chapter as well as in a separate section. This will hopefully help in exercising good statistical practice (GSP). However, in view of the explosion of new statistical techniques, it is not realistic to give a comprehensive review. For the technical aspects of the statistical techniques, we refer the reader to other sources. The methods will be illustrated using rheumatoid arthritis data sets.
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Lesaffre, E., Luime, J. (2014). A Review of Statistical Approaches for the Analysis of Data in Rheumatology. In: Yazici, H., Yazici, Y., Lesaffre, E. (eds) Understanding Evidence-Based Rheumatology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08374-2_2
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