Essentials of Biostatistics
Correspondence Address: Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None DOI: 10.4103/0975-2870.194237
Editors: Indranil Saha, Bobby Paul Publisher: Academic Publishers 2016, Kolkata, West Bengal, India Edition: Second Edition ISBN: 978-93-83420-71-1 Price: Rs 200/- Paperback A couple of years back, an editorial in this journal implored doctors to take more interest in biostatistics on the plea that dual insights are needed to push the envelope in medical research (Banerjee A. Beyond Professional Parochialism: Path to Progress. Med J DY Patil Univ 2014; 7: 263 - 5). To illustrate the point, the editorial gave examples of few books on biostatistics written by doctors for doctors. At that time, the editorial missed out on the First Edition of this book by Saha and Paul which was first published in the year 2010. With this review, an attempt is made to redress the oversight. Essentials of Biostatistics, now in its second edition is one such book written by doctors primarily for doctors and medical students though it will also be useful for those in other allied disciplines such as dental, nursing, alternative systems of medicine, and social sciences. Besides being of relevance to doctors pursuing research and postgraduate students who have to plan and carry out their dissertations, the book will be a perfect guide to the interested undergraduate student with an aptitude for research pursuing short-term research projects, for example, the short-term studentship which is sponsored by the Indian Council of Medical Research every year. The first part of the book introduces the beginner to the foundations of biostatistics in a simple and lucid manner which would be easy to comprehend. The latter portion of the book is devoted to the "Art and Science of Research." This section gives the reader an overview of research concepts, study designs, review of literature, research protocol writing, and research report writing. It also gives useful tips for getting a research paper published in peer review indexed journals an essential requirement for faculty for tenure and promotions according to the latest Medical Council of India Guidelines. Throughout the book, the concepts are further elucidated by questions and exercises at the end of each chapter to test the reader's understanding. A suggestion for the authors is offered for the future editions. The present lot of undergraduates is tech-savvy with easy access to computers and smartphones. A few standard epidemiological and software packages which are in the public domain (Epi Info 7 developed by Centre of Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, OpenEpi development was supported in part by a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health, WinPepi developed by Professor J H Abramson of the School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel) could have been introduced with computer-based exercises of common statistical procedures using these packages. This would make them learn and interpret statistical outputs faster in a manner far less cumbersome than manual procedures. The inbuilt tutorials with these packages could also serve as a self-learning tool.
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