Statistical Inference in Dentistry

Catalog description

Pre-requisites: PEDO 9436, PEDO 9455. This course devotes the first half to theoretical considerations relevant to the inferential process. It goes then to the critical interpretation of results from computerized analyses in the testing of hypothesis through varied statistical procedures (“T” tests for one and for two tails, with means and percentages; Chi -Square tests; regression analyses, etc.). The procedures for testing hypothesis are conducted in contexts directly relevant to Dentistry. The critical analysis always culminates with a discus sion on the inferential implications of the results. The course covers the basic concepts in probability; the theory relevant to sampling, including the sampling distribution as a theoretical concept; and the most commonly applied distributions (normal curve, the Binomial distribution, the Poisson distribution, the Chi -Square distribution). Tests of hypothesis are conducted with data relevant to Dentistry, in order to affirm the above mentioned concepts. Extensive use is made of presentations by the students in a seminar approach that integrates the practice to the theory.