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This chapter will consider commonly used methods for describing and analyzing data. We begin with an introduction to some important basic statistical concepts and then focus on some of the most well used methods of analysis for observational and intervention studies. The two types of data we will discuss in detail are continuous and binary data. For further reading, we recommend consulting a medical statistics textbook.1,2,3,4 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study design is a fundamental aspect of research. If the design of a study is poor, no amount of clever analysis will provide reliable results. The results from poorly designed studies could be meaningless, and many resources will have been wasted, not to mention the possible risk to the subjects, which would be unethical. Therefore, it is essential that researchers invest adequate time and effort in designing their studies appropriately. It would be advisable to involve a medical statistician or an epidemiologist at the design stage of a study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]