Throughout this course you will be building a glossary of terms and concepts relevant to biostatistics. Each of these terms will come up periodically throughout your studies and future research, so it will be important to understand and remember these terms going forward.
First, you will consider the concept of probability, which lies at the root of many questions we ask in public health. What are the chances of an outbreak of Ebola virus in your area? What are the odds that a particular behavior modification or intervention will be successful in promoting positive health outcomes? These types of questions can be answered using probability theory. Words like “chance,” “likelihood,” and “odds” refer to how probable it is that an event may occur. In statistics, probability is the mathematical language of uncertainty. As a foundational principle in statistics, probability can be used to determine patterns that may emerge from random phenomena.