Includes bibliographical references and index

Getting started: the anatomy and physiology of clinical research -- Conceiving the research question and developing the study plan -- Choosing the study subjects: specification, sampling, and recruitment -- Planning the measurements: precision, accuracy, and validity -- Getting ready to estimate sample size: hypotheses and underlying principles -- Estimating sample size and power: applications and examples -- Designing cross-sectional and cohort studies -- Designing case-control studies -- Enhancing casual inference in observational studies -- Designing a randomized blinded trial -- Alternative clinical trial designs and implementation issues -- Designing studies of medical tests -- Research using existing data -- Addressing ethical issues -- Designing questionnaires, interviews, and online surveys -- Data management -- Implementing the study and quality control -- Community and international studies -- Writing a proposal for funding research

"This book provides a practical guide to planning, tabulating, formulating, and implementing clinical research, in an easy-to-use, readable presentation"--Provided by publisher