BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Including Biostatistical Applications Ranjan Das, PN Das. [Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers (P) Ltd] First edition 2011, 228 pages, Price: Rs 195

Biomedical research is one of the most important areas in the field of medicine. The first time researchers, who do not have much knowledge about conducting research, face an uphill task when they apply research methodology to their thesis works, since very few concise and comprehensive books are available on this subject. This book is primarily meant for post-graduate students of medical, dental, nursing and allied fields. But nonetheless, it is bound to be very useful even for the accomplished researchers. This book deals with the basic concepts and principles of scientific research methods which can be used in the field of medicine. The style of presentation is simple with clarity of thoughts and the reader can definitely enjoy and understand reading the book.

There are three sections in the book. The first section is about Planning and Execution of Research which is the initial step in conducting any research. It comprises of five chapters which deal with Planning the research, Study designs, Ethical issues in research, Hypothesis development and measurements; and finally, Collecting data and Management.

The second section deals with Bio-statistical Applications in Research. It includes six chapters. The Author has described in a very simple and elegant way the various Sampling issues in Research, the Methods of describing the observations, Assessing risk, and in the end, Analyzing the observations: checking statistical significance and presenting observations in an appropriate manner.

The last section on Concluding the Research has been dealt in three chapters viz. the basis for drawing conclusions, the sources of error in the studies which includes the different types of biases and the concluding chapter gives helpful tips for writing the thesis/Report.

The author has also included a comprehensive glossary and set of statistical tables (Appendices) at the end of the book as a ready reckoner for the researchers.Overall, it is a comprehensive book on the subject, not at all voluminous, has an eye-soothing printing and a pleasant readability. Moreover, the size of the book makes it handy to be carried easily. The author is a great academician and has a special knack of writing books on versatile topics with great simplicity and clarity of expression. He deserves all credit for bringing out this book on a subject which is a grey area for most Biomedical Scientists and this book is bound to fill the vacuum which was being felt in the field of Biomedical Research.