Determining Sample Size and Power in Research Studies


Book Description

This book addresses sample size and power in the context of research, offering valuable insights for graduate and doctoral students as well as researchers in any discipline where data is generated to investigate research questions. It explains how to enhance the authenticity of research by estimating the sample size and reporting the power of the tests used. Further, it discusses the issue of sample size determination in survey studies as well as in hypothesis testing experiments so that readers can grasp the concept of statistical errors, minimum detectable difference, effect size, one-tail and two-tail tests and the power of the test. The book also highlights the importance of fixing these boundary conditions in enhancing the authenticity of research findings and improving the chances of research papers being accepted by respected journals. Further, it explores the significance of sample size by showing the power achieved in selected doctoral studies. Procedure has been discussed to fix power in the hypothesis testing experiment. One should usually have power at least 0.8 in the study because having power less than this will have the issue of practical significance of findings. If the power in any study is less than 0.5 then it would be better to test the hypothesis by tossing a coin instead of organizing the experiment. It also discusses determining sample size and power using the freeware G*Power software, based on twenty-one examples using different analyses, like t-test, parametric and non-parametric correlations, multivariate regression, logistic regression, independent and repeated measures ANOVA, mixed design, MANOVA and chi-square.




Guidelines for the Care and Use of Mammals in Neuroscience and Behavioral Research


Book Description

Expanding on the National Research Council's Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, this book deals specifically with mammals in neuroscience and behavioral research laboratories. It offers flexible guidelines for the care of these animals, and guidance on adapting these guidelines to various situations without hindering the research process. Guidelines for the Care and Use of Mammals in Neuroscience and Behavioral Research offers a more in-depth treatment of concerns specific to these disciplines than any previous guide on animal care and use. It treats on such important subjects as: The important role that the researcher and veterinarian play in developing animal protocols. Methods for assessing and ensuring an animal's well-being. General animal-care elements as they apply to neuroscience and behavioral research, and common animal welfare challenges this research can pose. The use of professional judgment and careful interpretation of regulations and guidelines to develop performance standards ensuring animal well-being and high-quality research. Guidelines for the Care and Use of Mammals in Neuroscience and Behavioral Research treats the development and evaluation of animal-use protocols as a decision-making process, not just a decision. To this end, it presents the most current, in-depth information about the best practices for animal care and use, as they pertain to the intricacies of neuroscience and behavioral research.




Sample Size Determination and Power


Book Description

A comprehensive approach to sample size determination and power with applications for a variety of fields Sample Size Determination and Power features a modern introduction to the applicability of sample size determination and provides a variety of discussions on broad topics including epidemiology, microarrays, survival analysis and reliability, design of experiments, regression, and confidence intervals. The book distinctively merges applications from numerous fields such as statistics, biostatistics, the health sciences, and engineering in order to provide a complete introduction to the general statistical use of sample size determination. Advanced topics including multivariate analysis, clinical trials, and quality improvement are addressed, and in addition, the book provides considerable guidance on available software for sample size determination. Written by a well-known author who has extensively class-tested the material, Sample Size Determination and Power: Highlights the applicability of sample size determination and provides extensive literature coverage Presents a modern, general approach to relevant software to guide sample size determination including CATD (computer-aided trial design) Addresses the use of sample size determination in grant proposals and provides up-to-date references for grant investigators An appealing reference book for scientific researchers in a variety of fields, such as statistics, biostatistics, the health sciences, mathematics, ecology, and geology, who use sampling and estimation methods in their work, Sample Size Determination and Power is also an ideal supplementary text for upper-level undergraduate and graduate-level courses in statistical sampling.




Doing Meta-Analysis with R


Book Description

Doing Meta-Analysis with R: A Hands-On Guide serves as an accessible introduction on how meta-analyses can be conducted in R. Essential steps for meta-analysis are covered, including calculation and pooling of outcome measures, forest plots, heterogeneity diagnostics, subgroup analyses, meta-regression, methods to control for publication bias, risk of bias assessments and plotting tools. Advanced but highly relevant topics such as network meta-analysis, multi-three-level meta-analyses, Bayesian meta-analysis approaches and SEM meta-analysis are also covered. A companion R package, dmetar, is introduced at the beginning of the guide. It contains data sets and several helper functions for the meta and metafor package used in the guide. The programming and statistical background covered in the book are kept at a non-expert level, making the book widely accessible. Features • Contains two introductory chapters on how to set up an R environment and do basic imports/manipulations of meta-analysis data, including exercises • Describes statistical concepts clearly and concisely before applying them in R • Includes step-by-step guidance through the coding required to perform meta-analyses, and a companion R package for the book




The Design and Statistical Analysis of Animal Experiments


Book Description

This book will provide scientists with a better understanding of statistics, improving their decision-making and reducing animal use.




Determining Sample Size


Book Description

A researchers decision about the sample to draw in a study may have an enormous impact on the results, and it rests on numerous statistical and practical considerations that can be difficult to juggle. Computer programs help, but no single software package exists that allows researchers to determine sample size across all statistical procedures. This pocket guide shows social work students, educators, and researchers how to prevent some of the mistakes that would result from a wrong sample size decision by describing and critiquing four main approaches to determining sample size. In concise, example-rich chapters, Dattalo covers sample-size determination using power analysis, confidence intervals, computer-intensive strategies, and ethical or cost considerations, as well as techniques for advanced and emerging statistical strategies such as structural equation modeling, multilevel analysis, repeated measures MANOVA and repeated measures ANOVA. He also offers strategies for mitigating pressures to increase sample size when doing so may not be feasible. Whether as an introduction to the process for students or as a refresher for experienced researchers, this practical guide is a perfect overview of a crucial but often overlooked step in empirical social work research.




Sample Size Calculations in Clinical Research


Book Description

Praise for the Second Edition: "... this is a useful, comprehensive compendium of almost every possible sample size formula. The strong organization and carefully defined formulae will aid any researcher designing a study." -Biometrics "This impressive book contains formulae for computing sample size in a wide range of settings. One-sample studies and two-sample comparisons for quantitative, binary, and time-to-event outcomes are covered comprehensively, with separate sample size formulae for testing equality, non-inferiority, and equivalence. Many less familiar topics are also covered ..." – Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Sample Size Calculations in Clinical Research, Third Edition presents statistical procedures for performing sample size calculations during various phases of clinical research and development. A comprehensive and unified presentation of statistical concepts and practical applications, this book includes a well-balanced summary of current and emerging clinical issues, regulatory requirements, and recently developed statistical methodologies for sample size calculation. Features: Compares the relative merits and disadvantages of statistical methods for sample size calculations Explains how the formulae and procedures for sample size calculations can be used in a variety of clinical research and development stages Presents real-world examples from several therapeutic areas, including cardiovascular medicine, the central nervous system, anti-infective medicine, oncology, and women’s health Provides sample size calculations for dose response studies, microarray studies, and Bayesian approaches This new edition is updated throughout, includes many new sections, and five new chapters on emerging topics: two stage seamless adaptive designs, cluster randomized trial design, zero-inflated Poisson distribution, clinical trials with extremely low incidence rates, and clinical trial simulation.




Adequacy of Sample Size in Health Studies


Book Description

Practical rather than theoretical, it provides epidemiologists and other health workers with a good basic knowledge of sampling principles and methods and their potential in the medical field. Focusing on the determination of adequate sample sizes under different situations, the book is divided into two parts; the first provides solutions to typical problems of various survey and study designs, and the second offers a clear, concise exposition of the theory behind the processes of determining sample size. Features many reference tables.




Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences


Book Description

Statistical Power Analysis is a nontechnical guide to power analysis in research planning that provides users of applied statistics with the tools they need for more effective analysis. The Second Edition includes: * a chapter covering power analysis in set correlation and multivariate methods; * a chapter considering effect size, psychometric reliability, and the efficacy of "qualifying" dependent variables and; * expanded power and sample size tables for multiple regression/correlation.




The Design of Animal Experiments


Book Description

Where there is no alternative to the use of animals in biomedical research, it is important that experiments are well designed and correctly analysed in order to minimise pain and maximize the chance of getting scientifically valid results. Experiments that use too few animals may fail to pick up biologically important effects, while those who use them incorrectly or wastefully may get invalid results while subjecting the animals to unnecessary pain, distress or lasting harm. The Design of Animal Experiments is intended for all research scientists who use laboratory animals, with the aim of helping them to design their own experiments more effectively and/or to improve their ability to communicate with professional statisticians when necessary. It covers all randomised controlled experimental designs likely to be needed in laboratory animal research, with worked examples showing how they can be statistically analysed. It suggests the more widespread use of randomised block designs and shows how both males and females can be included in an experiment without the need to increase the total number of animals by using factorial designs. It also includes guidance on the choice of experimental animals. The book covers the learning outcomes of Module 10 and part (ii) of Module 11 of education and training under Directive 2010/63/EU.