College of Medical Sciences Professor Publishes Book

William Gibson, DDS, Ph.D., a professor in the College of Medical Sciences and chair of the Department of Pathology, has published a book titled Basic Concepts of Biostatistics and Research Design for Oral Health Professionals.

The book is an introductory text in biostatistics and research design for pre-doctoral and postdoctoral dental students and dental hygiene students that also provides a good review of the subject for dental practitioners and other oral health professionals. It introduces commonly used biostatistical techniques through simple mathematical examples and then the use of the computer utilizing those same examples. This provides an understanding of how the technique is applied, calculated, and interpreted and minimizes the misunderstandings that often arise when biostatistics is taught by simply entering data into the computer. Step-by-step instructions are given for the hand calculation of each example and for the use of the computer ( SPSS v 15 ). These same computer instructions are also valid for earlier versions of SPSS.