Clinical Trials Dictionary – Terminology and Usage Recommendations 2e

CURTIS L. MEINERT, PhD, is Professor in the Departments of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, where he served as founder of the Johns Hopkins Center for Clinical Trials. He is a Fellow of the American College of Epidemiology, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Heart Association, and the Society for Clinical Trials. Dr. Meinert has focused his research on the methodological issues in clinical trials, including their design, conduct, policy, and practice. He is the author of Clinical Trials Handbook: Design and Conduct (Wiley).

FOREWORD 1ST EDITION ix PREFACE xi CONTRIBUTORS xiii EXPLANATORY NOTES xv Domain of coverage xv Order and place of entries xv Synonyms, antonyms, and related terms xv Language and usage conventions xv Sources and references xvi Adages xvi Usage notes xvi Etymologies xvi Abbreviations xvii Index xvii USAGE PRACTICES, CAUTIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS xix Recommended and preferred usages xx Comparative and relative terms xxii Redundancies, repetitions, and unnecessary words xxiii Not saying what we mean xxv Humanizing the inanimate xxv Pre-, post-, non-, and un- words xxvi Small troublesome words xxvi The language of praise, implied value judgment, and presumption xxvii Euphemisms xxix Currency words xxix The language of criticism xxx The language of exception xxxi The language of intimidation, implication, and position xxxii The language of division xxxiii Usurpative language xxxiii The language of positivity and negativity xxxiv Pronouns xxxvii The language of equivocation and weaseling xxxvii Vacuous language and claims xxxviii Jargon xxxviii Truth by declaration and repetition xxxix ABBREVIATIONS xli LISTING OF ENTRIES xlvii Dictionary A 1 B 15 C 27 D 63 E 79 F 93 G 107 H 113 I 119 J and K 137 L 141 M 151 N 165 O 175 P 185 Q 217 R 221 S 241 T 273 U 291 V 297 W 301 X, Y, and Z 305 REFERENCES 307 INDEX 317 EQUATIONS AND FUNCTIONS Bayes' theorem 18 Binomial distribution 22 Binomial theorem 22 Bivariate normal distribution 23 Exponential distribution 90 F-test statistic 93 Gamma distribution 107 Gamma function 107 Geometric distribution 108 Gompertz's curve 108 Greco-Latin square 110 Hypergeometric distribution 117 Inverse sine transformation 133 Kappa statistic 138 Kendall's tau 139 Latin square 141 Normal distribution 172 Poisson distribution 199 Square root transformation 256 t distribution 273 GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 1. Bar Diagram 16 Figure 2. Bell-Shaped Curve 18 Figure 3. Bimodal Distribution 21 Figure 4. Box Plot 25 Figure 5. Chi-square Distribution 31 Figure 6. Circle Graph 32 Figure 7. Closed Sequential Design 37 Figure 8. CONSORT Chart 52 Figure 9. Cumulative Frequency Distribution 60 Figure 10. Exponential Distribution 90 Figure 11. F Distribution 93 Figure 12. Flowchart 99 Figure 13. Forest Plot 101 Figure 14. Frequency Polygon 103 Figure 15. Gantt Chart 107 Figure 16. Histogram 116 Figure 17. Isometric Graph 136 Figure 18. J-shaped Curve 137 Figure 19. Left Skew Distribution 143 Figure 20. Logistic Curve 147 Figure 21. Normal Distribution 172 Figure 22. Open Sequential Design 180 Figure 23. Poisson Distribution 199 Figure 24. Right Skew Distribution 239 Figure 25. s-shaped Curve 241 Figure 26. Scatter Diagram 243 Figure 27. Survival Curve 270 Figure 28. t Distribution 273 Figure 29. Uniform Distribution 294 Figure 30. Venn Diagram 299