Clinical Trials Dictionary (eBook)

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

"Clinical Trials Dictionary belongs in any library
collection serving readers and writers of clinical trials,
including libraries for nursing, social work, epidemiology,
medicine, public health, psychology, sociology and any other of the
many related fields for which the clinical trial represents a
valuable standard of evidence." (Reference
Reviews, 1 November 2013)

"Clinical Trials Dictionary: Terminology and Usage
Recommendations" is an insightful and meticulous guide to
clinical research that is organized like a dictionary. The author
is passionate about the use of language for ill purpose, as
evidenced by the usage recommendations and an essay about the
language of euphemism, critiicism, intimidation, division,
usurpation, equivocation, etc." (Journal of Clinical
Research Best Practices, 7 July 2013)