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A LOOK AT STATISTICS FROM THE VIEWPOINT OF THE FIELDS
When one speaks about statistics, almost everyone is talking about mathematics, about probability...
A BETTER BIOSTATISTICS FOR A BETTER MEDICAL SCIENCE
...but for us in health sciences it is all part of biostatistics
In medicine and other health sciences, in biomedical sciences,
what we seek is always a degree of certainty or certitude...
...about what we do or what we are going to implement as treatment...
...or about our procedures to restore or preserve health, or to prevent disease...
CARLOS EDUARDO MEDINA DE LA GARZA, M. D., PH. D. DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN HEALTH SCIENCES AT THE AUTONOMOUS UNIVERSITY OF NUEVO LEON
In that sense I think the information that is provided by statistics...
is that degree of certainty which we can trust and that enables us to make a prediction about what will happen...
...with a specific treatment or intervention. In the opposite case, statistics also gives us certainty when it will not work.
So with this tool we can make decisions
STATISTICS SAVES TIME, MONEY AND EFFORT FROM THE BEGINNIG OF THE PROJECTS
I think we all have some degree of knowledge of statistics.
However statistics is always important in the project planning process,
not only of scientific experiments, but of an overall project
It is important to have the advice of those who know the parameters or procedures
so that we can determine whether these projects are good
and try to find a successful outcome for these projects.
Sometimes the data are very confusing, can be confusing
or can lead to confusion, or may be poorly gathered from the beginning,
which leads us to say: why cannot I compare this,
why cannot I do a correlation here, why dont I have enough data, something happened,
then we realize that the experiment or observation was not well planned
That's when we say, oh, we have to talk to someone who knows biostatistics very well
but that also involves having to redo many of the experiments or observations.
So I always recommend that the working groups,
whatever the area, always take advantage of the chance and the opportunity, during the project or the planning process,
...to enlist the help of someone well versed in biostatistics to can give them their opinion...
...and to detect possible failures when interpreting the data that will be generated...
I think it's a good habit, a methodologically correct one, to always check,
always test our ideas and projects with someone from the fields of statistics and biostatistics...
...because that can save us time, money and effort.
STATISTICS HELPS TO VALIDATE THE SCIENCE
If we did not have that certitude, from which someone could tell us...
...or some methodology could tell us, that what was done is true and correct,
then I think it would undermine the very foundations of science,
I believe that you would not be able to think about science in a serious, proper and sober manner...
without considering at the same time statistics,
...in our case statistics applied to the health sciences.
Statistics is a great tool to help build science.
If statistics is of high quality, science is of great quality.
I want to stress again, about the feedback we spoke about a moment ago,
that statistics provides feedback to science,
telling the methodology of science how to do things better...
..is one of the tools that give it validity and credibility and tell us if it is for real or not.
STATISTICS IS AN AREA OF OPPORTUNITY
The power of a university perhaps, the power of an institution or a country
can also be measured by the number of people who are working in biostatistics.
If we want to grow scientifically in our country...
we have to pay close attention to the statistical aspects of the validation of our science.
Teaching biostatistics should been seen as an area of great opportunity.
Drug companies, major laboratories and the like...
...require this type of in-depth knowledge;
they also need people who have medical or biomedical training.
I can say, from what I have seen without being a fan of biostatistics,
what I can see is that it is a great career that can give a lot of satisfaction...
...from an academic and professional standpoint.
I think that biostatistics is something about which people should say:
I want to study biostatistics because I can see a future and a well paid career,
when reaching critical mass, the number of statisticians that a country needs...
...will contribute significantly to its science.
I cannot look at statistics separately from the creation of science,
and we will have better science. The better the biostatistics, the better the medical science. I have no doubt about that.