Biometrics , or biological statistics , is the scientific industry at the intersection of biology and variation statistics related to the development and use of statistical methods in scientific research (both in planning quantitative experiments and in processing experimental data and observations) in biology , medicine , healthcare and epidemiology .
Biometrics took shape in the 19th century , mainly thanks to the work of Francis Galton and Karl Pearson . In the 1920s and 1930s, Ronald Fisher made a major contribution to the development of biometrics.
Content
History
Francis Galton (1822-1911) stood at the origins of biometrics. Initially, Galton was preparing to become a doctor. However, while studying at Cambridge University , he became interested in natural science, meteorology, anthropology, heredity and the theory of evolution. In his book on natural heredity, published in 1889 , he first introduced the word biometry ; at the same time, he developed the basics of correlation analysis . Galton laid the foundations for a new science and gave it a name.
However, the mathematician Karl Pearson (1857-1936) turned it into a harmonious scientific discipline. In 1884, Pearson received the Department of Applied Mathematics at the University of London , and in 1889 he became acquainted with Galton and his work. A large role in the life of Pearson was played by zoologist . Helping him in the analysis of real zoological data, Pearson introduced in 1893 the concept of standard deviation and coefficient of variation. Trying to mathematically formulate Galton's theory of heredity, Pearson in 1898 developed the foundations of multiple regression. In 1903, Pearson developed the foundations of the theory of conjugacy of signs, and in 1905 published the foundations of nonlinear correlation and regression.
The next stage in the development of biometrics is associated with the name of the great English statistician Ronald Fisher (1890-1962). While studying at Cambridge University, Fisher met with the works of Gregor Mendel and Karl Pearson. In 1913-1915, Fisher worked as a statistician at one of the enterprises, and in 1915-1919 he taught physics and mathematics in high school. From 1919 to 1933, Fisher worked as a statistician at the experimental agricultural station in Rotamsted . Then, until 1943, Fisher served as professor at the University of London, and from 1943 to 1957 he headed the Department of Genetics at Cambridge. Over the years, he developed the theory of sample distributions, methods of variance and discriminant analysis, the theory of experimental design, the maximum likelihood method, and much more, which forms the basis of modern applied statistics and mathematical genetics.
Software
For statistical analysis of biomedical data, standard commercial statistical packages (for example, SPSS , STATISTICA , MedCalc, etc.) and free software (for example, R package , Hierarchical Clustering Explorer, Dendroscpe, etc.) can be used. [one]
Biometrics Magazines
See also
- Biometrika
- Applied Statistics
- Epidemiology
Notes
- ↑ Free statistical software. An overview of statistical software and methods used in published microbiological studies (Inaccessible link) . Archived on November 7, 2014.
Literature
- Glotov N.V., Zhivotovsky L.A., Khovanov N.V., Khromov-Borisov N.N. Biometrics. - L., 1982.
- Lakin G.F. Biometrics: A manual for biol. specialist. universities - 4th ed., revised. and add. - M .: Higher. school, 1990. - 352 p.: ill.
- Plokhinsky N.A. Biometrics. - M., 1970.
- Rokitsky P.F. Biological statistics. - 1967.
- Terentyev P.V. Sources of biometrics. From the history of biology. - M., 1971.
Links
- Biometry // Big Soviet Encyclopedia : [in 30 vol.] / Ch. ed. A.M. Prokhorov . - 3rd ed. - M .: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1969-1978. (Retrieved March 2, 2015)
- Biomedical Statistics is an educational website dedicated to the statistical analysis of biomedical data.