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1Formulas and methods
Evidence-based practice statistics
Sensitivity and specificity
Se = a/(a + c), Sp = d/(b + d)
Predictive values
PPV = a/(a + b), NPV = d/(c + d)
Accuracy
(a + d)/n
Likelihood ratios
LR+ = Se/(1 − Sp), LR− = (1 − Se)/Sp
PPV at prevalence p
Se·p / (Se·p + (1 − Sp)(1 − p))
Odds
odds = p/(1 − p); p = odds/(1 + odds); post-test odds = pre-test odds × LR
Risk measures
RR = EER/CER, ARR = CER − EER, RRR = ARR/CER
Number needed to treat
NNT = 1/ARR, rounded up; NNH = 1/(EER − CER)
Odds ratio
OR = ad/(bc)
Incidence rate
new cases / person-time
Method
Draw the 2 × 2 table and label a, b, c and d before you calculate.
Read sensitivity and specificity down the columns, predictive values along the rows.
For another prevalence, imagine 10 000 people and fill the table with Se, Sp and the prevalence.
For a likelihood ratio, convert the probability to odds, multiply, and convert back.
For a trial, find EER and CER first; then RR = EER/CER, ARR = CER − EER and NNT = 1/ARR rounded up.
Descriptive statistics
Mean
x̄ = Σx/n
Sample standard deviation
s = √(Σ(x − x̄)²/(n − 1))
Median
middle value of the sorted data
z-score
z = (x − μ)/σ
Normal distribution
68% within ±1σ, 95% within ±2σ
Confidence intervals
σ known
x̄ ± z·σ/√n
σ unknown
x̄ ± t·s/√n, df = n − 1
Critical z
90%: 1.645, 95%: 1.96, 99%: 2.576
Sample size
n = (z·σ/E)², rounded up
Method
Decide between z (population σ known) and t (only the sample s, with n − 1 degrees of freedom).
Find the critical value for the confidence level.
Margin of error: E = critical value × standard deviation/√n.
Interval: x̄ ± E.
Hypothesis tests & confidence intervals
z-test for a mean
z = (x̄ − μ0)/(σ/√n)
t-test for a mean
t = (x̄ − μ0)/(s/√n), df = n − 1
Two-sided at 5%
reject H0 if |z| > 1.96
Confidence interval
x̄ ± z·σ/√n
Method
State H₀ and H₁ and decide whether the test is one- or two-sided.
Calculate the test statistic: (x̄ − μ₀)/(σ/√n), or with s and t.
Compare with the critical value, or find the p-value.
Reject H₀ if the statistic is beyond the critical value (p below α), and state the conclusion in words.
2Practice problems
1.Evidence-based practice statisticsMedium
Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). A case-control study compares 320 patients with a disease (cases) and 470 people without it (controls). The table shows how many in each group were exposed to a risk factor. Find the odds ratio OR for the exposure. Round to two decimal places.
a = 184b = 146c = 136d = 324
OR =
2.Evidence-based practice statisticsHard
Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). A treatment reduces the risk of an event by 25% in relative terms (RRR = 25%). In a patient group the risk without treatment (CER) is 31% over five years. Find the number needed to treat NNT for five years to prevent one event. Round up to a whole number of patients.
RRR = 25%CER = 31%
NNT =
3.Descriptive statisticsMedium
Find the sample standard deviation s of the data: 17, 14, 13, 57, 51, 49, 34.
n = 7
s =
4.Descriptive statisticsHard
A quantity is normally distributed with mean 100 and standard deviation 10. What proportion P of values is below 120?
μ = 100σ = 10x = 120
P =
5.Confidence intervalsMedium
A 95% confidence interval for a mean, based on 36 observations and a known σ, has a margin of error of 1.3. What is the margin of error E₂ if the same study uses 9 observations instead?
95%n₁ = 36E₁ = 1.3n₂ = 9
E₂ =
6.Confidence intervalsHard
The diameters of 10 machined shafts have a sample standard deviation of 6.3 µm. Assuming the diameters are normally distributed, find the upper limit σ of the 95% confidence interval for the population standard deviation. With df = 9, 2.5% of the χ² distribution lies below 2.7 and 2.5% lies above 19.023.
n = 10s = 6.3 µmχ² = 2.7, 19.023
σ = µm
7.Hypothesis tests & confidence intervalsMedium
A sample of 100 students has a mean score of 124.8 and a sample standard deviation of 20. Find the test statistic t for H₀: μ = 120.
μ₀ = 120x̄ = 124.8s = 20n = 100
t =
8.Hypothesis tests & confidence intervalsHard
How large must a sample be so that the 90% confidence interval for a mean has a margin of error of at most 2? The standard deviation is 20. Find the smallest sample size n.
σ = 20E = 290%
n =
3Solutions
1.Evidence-based practice statistics
Answer: OR = 3
Likelihood ratios and risk measures: LR+ = sensitivity/(1 − specificity), LR− = (1 − sensitivity)/specificity. In a trial, EER and CER are the event rates with and without treatment: RR = EER/CER, ARR = CER − EER, RRR = ARR/CER and NNT = 1/ARR, rounded up. In a case-control study only the odds ratio OR = ad/(bc) can be used. An incidence rate = new cases/person-time.
Odds of exposure
cases: 184/136 = 1.353
controls: 146/324 = 0.4506
Odds ratio
OR = (184·324)/(146·136) = 3.002 ≈ 3
Answer
OR = 3
OR above 1: exposure is more common among the cases.
2.Evidence-based practice statistics
Answer: NNT = 13
Predictive values depend on prevalence: PPV = Se·p/(Se·p + (1 − Sp)(1 − p)) and NPV = Sp(1 − p)/(Sp(1 − p) + (1 − Se)p). With likelihood ratios: pre-test odds = p/(1 − p), post-test odds = pre-test odds × LR, probability = odds/(1 + odds). For a population of N, true positives = N·p·Se and false positives = N·(1 − p)·(1 − Sp). NNT = 1/(CER × RRR), rounded up.
Absolute risk reduction
ARR = 0.31·0.25 = 0.0775
Number needed to treat
NNT = 1/0.0775 = 12.9 → 13
Answer
NNT = 13
The same relative effect gives a smaller NNT when the baseline risk is higher.
3.Descriptive statistics
Answer: s = 19.03
Descriptive statistics: the mean is the sum divided by n; the median is the middle value of the sorted data (the average of the two middle values when n is even). The sample standard deviation is s = √(Σ(x − x̄)²/(n − 1)). A z-score z = (x − μ)/σ says how many standard deviations a value lies from the mean.
Descriptive statistics: the mean is the sum divided by n; the median is the middle value of the sorted data (the average of the two middle values when n is even). The sample standard deviation is s = √(Σ(x − x̄)²/(n − 1)). A z-score z = (x − μ)/σ says how many standard deviations a value lies from the mean.
Standardise
z = 2
Standard normal table
Φ(2) = 0.9772
P = 0.9772
Answer
P = 0.9772
5.Confidence intervals
Answer: E₂ = 2.6
Confidence interval for a mean: x̄ ± margin of error. With a known population σ the margin is z·σ/√n; with only the sample standard deviation s, use t with n − 1 degrees of freedom: t·s/√n. Critical values: z = 1.645 (90%), 1.96 (95%), 2.576 (99%). To get a margin E or smaller, you need n ≥ (z·σ/E)², rounded up.
Ratio of margins
E₂/E₁ = (1.96/1.96)·√(36/9) = 2
New margin
E₂ = 1.3·2 = 2.6
Answer
E₂ = 2.6
6.Confidence intervals
Answer: σ = 11.5 µm
Interval for a variance: (n − 1)s²/σ² has a χ² distribution with n − 1 degrees of freedom. The 95% interval for σ² runs from (n − 1)s² divided by the upper χ² value (2.5% above it) to (n − 1)s² divided by the lower χ² value (2.5% below it); the interval for σ is the square root of both limits. It is not symmetric around s.
Sum of squares
(n − 1)s² = 9·6.3² = 357.2
Limits for σ²
357.2/19.023 = 18.78
357.2/2.7 = 132.3
Limit for σ
σ = √132.3 = 11.5 µm
Answer
σ = 11.5 µm
95% interval for σ: [4.333, 11.5] µm.
7.Hypothesis tests & confidence intervals
Answer: t = 2.4
Testing a mean: the test statistic measures how many standard errors the sample mean lies from the value claimed in H₀: z = (x̄ − μ₀)/(σ/√n) when σ is known, t = (x̄ − μ₀)/(s/√n) when it is estimated from the sample. A confidence interval is x̄ ± (critical value)·(standard error).
Standard error
SE = 20/√100 = 20/10 = 2
Test statistic
t = (124.8 − 120)/2 = 2.4
Answer
t = 2.4
t0.025; df = 99 = 1.984
|t| > 1.984, so H₀ is rejected at the 5% level (two-sided).
8.Hypothesis tests & confidence intervals
Answer: n = 271
Testing a mean: the test statistic measures how many standard errors the sample mean lies from the value claimed in H₀: z = (x̄ − μ₀)/(σ/√n) when σ is known, t = (x̄ − μ₀)/(s/√n) when it is estimated from the sample. A confidence interval is x̄ ± (critical value)·(standard error).