Analyzing medical data using S-PLUS (Q5949946)

This book covers a range of statistical methods useful in the analysis of medical data, from the simple to the sophisticated, and shows how they may be applied using the latest version of S-PLUS, S-PLUS 2000 and S-PLUS 6. In each chapter several sets of medical data are explored and analyzed using a mixture of graphical and model fitting approaches. At the end of each chapter, the S-PLUS script files are listed, enabling readers to reproduce all the analyses and graphics in the chapter. These script files can be downloaded from a Web site. The contents are the following: 1. An introduction to S-PLUS; 2. Describing data; 3. Basic inference; 4. Scatterplots, simple regression and smoothing; 5. Analysis of variance and covariance; 6. The analysis of longitudinal data; 7. More graphics; 8. Multiple linear regression; 9. Generalized linear models I: Logistic regression; 10. Generalized linear models II: Poisson regression; 11. Linear mixed models I; 12. Linear mixed models II; 13. Generalized additive models; 14. Nonlinear models; 15. Regression trees; 16. Survival analysis I; 17. Survival analysis II: Cox's regression; 18. Principal components and factor analysis; 19. Cluster analysis; 20. Discriminant function analysis. The aim of the book is to show how to use S-PLUS as a powerful environment for undertaking a variety of statistical analyses from simple inference to complex model fitting, and for providing informative graphics. All such methods are of increasing importance in handling data from a variety of medical investigations, including epidemiological studies and clinical trials. The mix of real data examples and background theory makes this book useful for students and researchers alike. For the former, exercises are provided at the end of each chapter to increase their fluency in using the command line language of the S-PLUS software.