Central tendency and variability in biological systems: Part 2

Abstract

This is the second article of a series on fundamental concepts in biostatistics and research. In this article, the author reviews the manner in which researchers characterize data. Normality, standard deviation, mean, P value, and other concepts related to parametric statistics are discussed in common language, with a minimum of jargon and mathematics, and with clinical examples. Emphasis is given to conceptual understanding.

Keywords

• mean
• median
• mode
• average
• normal distribution
• standard deviation
• p-value
• statistics