Читать книгу Practical Statistics for Nursing and Health Care - Jim Fowler - Страница 27

Statistical methods commonly fall into one of two classes – parametric and non‐parametric. Parametric methods are the oldest, and although most often used by statisticians, may not always be the most appropriate for analysing medical data. Parametric methods make strict assumptions that may not always hold true.

More recently, non‐parametric methods have been devised that are not based upon stringent assumptions. These are frequently more suitable for processing the sort of data we collect. Moreover, they are generally simpler to apply since they avoid the laborious and repetitive calculations involved in some of the parametric methods, although, as we note elsewhere, computers that are used intelligently can help with this. The circumstances under which a particular method should be used will be described as it arises. A summary showing which methods should be applied in particular circumstances is provided in Section 11.8.