Biostatistics: The Bare Essentials, 4th edition continues the tradition of translating statistics in health sciences literature with clarity and irreverence. Students and practitioners alike applaud Biostatistics as a practical guide that exposes them to every statistical test they are likely to encounter, with careful conceptual explanations and a minimum of algebra.
Free of calculations and jargon, Bare Essentials speaks so plainly that readers will not need a technical dictionary. The focus is on biometrics concepts, not the math. The objective is to enable one to determine whether the research results are applicable to their own patients.
Throughout, readers will find highlights of areas in which researchers misuse or misinterpret statistical tests. The authors have labeled these “C.R.A.P. Detectors” (Convoluted Reasoning and Anti-Intellectual Pomposity), and they help identify faulty methodology and misuse of statistics.

A very positive review of the 3rd edition of the book by Dr. Naomi Vaisrub appeared in JAMA which praised the book but recommended covering topics in epidemiology, so in the 4th edition the Norman and Streiner took her up on it. They have also included an entirely new chapter, called “Measures of Impact,” in which the authors discuss measures of incidence and prevalence, risk, morbidity and fatality rates, and the number needed to treat. The authors also delve into the Poisson distribution for doing regressions on count data. The reader will find new sections on robust estimators of the mean, the problems of multiple hypothesis testing, bootstrapping and resampling, as well as an expanded section on nonparametric stats.

Geoffrey Norman's profile page