Model-based Geostatistics for Global Public Health: Methods and Applications provides an introductory account of model-based geostatistics, its implementation in open-source software and its application in public health research. In the public health problems that are the focus of this book, the authors describe and explain the pattern of spatial variation in a health outcome or exposure measurement of interest. Model-based geostatistics uses explicit probability models an...

Retaining all the material from the second edition and adding substantial new material, this third edition presents models and statistical methods for analyzing spatially referenced point process data. Reflected in the title, this edition now covers spatio-temporal point patterns. It also incorporates the use of R through several packages dedicated to the analysis of spatial point process data, with code and data sets available online. Practical examples illustrate how the methods are appl...

Many problems in biology require an understanding of the relationships among variables in a multivariate causal context. Exploring such cause-effect relationships through a series of statistical methods, this book explains how to test causal hypotheses when randomised experiments cannot be performed. This completely revised and updated edition features detailed explanations for carrying out statistical methods using the popular and freely available R statistical language. Sections on d-sep...

Latent Variable Models and Factor Analysis provides a comprehensive and unified approach to factor analysis and latent variable modeling from a statistical perspective. This book presents a general framework to enable the derivation of the commonly used models, along with updated numerical examples. Nature and interpretation of a latent variable is also introduced along with related techniques for investigating dependency.This book:Provides a unified approach...

The first edition of Analysis for Longitudinal Data has become a classic. Describing the statistical models and methods for the analysis of longitudinal data, it covers both the underlying statistical theory of each method, and its application to a range of examples from the agricultural and biomedical sciences. The main topics discussed are design issues, exploratory methods of analysis, linear models for continuous data, general linear models for discrete data, and models and me...

A valuable overview of the most important ideas and results in statistical modelingWritten by a highly-experienced author, Foundations of Linear and Generalized Linear Models is a clear and comprehensive guide to the key concepts and results of linearstatistical models. The book presents a broad, in-depth overview of the most commonly usedstatistical models by discussing the theory underlying the models, R software applications,and examples with crafted mo...

Introduction to WinBUGS for Ecologists introduces applied Bayesian modeling to ecologists using the highly acclaimed, free WinBUGS software. It offers an understanding of statistical models as abstract representations of the various processes that give rise to a data set. Such an understanding is basic to the development of inference models tailored to specific sampling and ecological scenarios. The book begins by presenting the advantages of a Bayesian approach to statistics and introduci...

Modelling has permeated virtually all areas of industrial, environmental, economic, bio-medical or civil engineering: yet the use of models for decision-making raises a number of issues to which this book is dedicated:How uncertain is my model ? Is it truly valuable to support decision-making ? What kind of decision can be truly supported and how can I handle residual uncertainty ? How much refined should the mathematical description be, given the true data limitations ? Could the ...

Bayesian analysis of complex models based on stochastic processes has in recent years become a growing area. This book provides a unified treatment of Bayesian analysis of models based on stochastic processes, covering the main classes of stochastic processing including modeling, computational, inference, forecasting, decision making and important applied models.Key features:Explores Bayesian analysis of models based on stochastic processes, providing a unified treatm...

Bayesian analysis has developed rapidly in applications in the last two decades and research in Bayesian methods remains dynamic and fast-growing. Dramatic advances in modelling concepts and computational technologies now enable routine application of Bayesian analysis using increasingly realistic stochastic models, and this drives the adoption of Bayesian approaches in many areas of science, technology, commerce, and industry. This Handbook explores contemporary Bayesian analysis across a...

The interest in using Bayesian methods in ecology is increasing, however many ecologists have difficulty with conducting the required analyses. McCarthy bridges that gap, using a clear and accessible style. The text also incorporates case studies to demonstrate mark-recapture analysis, development of population models and the use of subjective judgement. The advantages of Bayesian methods, are also described here, for example, the incorporation of any relevant prior information and the abi...

This book covers modern statistical inference based on likelihood with applications in medicine, epidemiology and biology. Two introductory chapters discuss the importance of statistical models in applied quantitative research and the central role of the likelihood function. The rest of the book is divided into three parts. The first describes likelihood-based inference from a frequentist viewpoint. Properties of the maximum likelihood estimate, the score function, the likelihood ratio and...