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Methods and Concepts of Epidemiology

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Book cover Modern Infectious Disease Epidemiology

Part of the book series: Statistics for Biology and Health ((SBH))

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Abstract

The purpose of this chapter is to review the basic concepts of epidemiology, including definitions of measures of disease occurrence and measures of association, brief descriptions of study designs and ethical principles of epidemiological research. Additionally, the theory and criteria of causation, systematic and random errors in epidemiological studies and methodological issues related to diagnostic tests are discussed. The concepts are outlined and some examples are given.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Public Health Medicine, School of Public Health, University of Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany

    Rafael Mikolajczyk

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  1. Rafael Mikolajczyk
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Correspondence to Rafael Mikolajczyk .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Fak. Gesundheitswissenschaften, Universität Bielefeld, Universitätsstr. 25, Bielefeld, 33615, Germany

    Alexander Krämer

  2. University Medical Center Utrecht, Heidelberglaan 100, Utrecht, 3584 CX, Netherlands

    Mirjam Kretzschmar

  3. Manglieu, 63270, France

    Klaus Krickeberg

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Mikolajczyk, R. (2009). Methods and Concepts of Epidemiology. In: Krämer, A., Kretzschmar, M., Krickeberg, K. (eds) Modern Infectious Disease Epidemiology. Statistics for Biology and Health. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-93835-6_11

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