Successfully tested in the authors' courses at Boston University and Harvard University, this text combines
theory and practice in presenting traditional and new epidemiologic concepts. Broad in scope, the text opens with
five chapters covering the basic epidemiologic concepts and data sources. A major emphasis is placed on study design,
with separate chapters devoted to each of the three main analytic designs: experimental, cohort, and case-control
studies. Full chapters on bias, confounding, and random error, including the role of statistics in epidemiology,
ensure that students are well-equipped with the necessary information to interpret the results of epidemiologic
studies. An entire chapter is also devoted to the concept of effect measure modification, an often-neglected topic
in introductory textbooks. Up-to-date examples from the epidemiologic literature on diseases of public health importance
are provided throughout the book. The Third Edition is a thorough update that offers: � New examples, the latest
references, and public health statistics. � Nearly 50 new review questions. � Updated discussion of certain epidemiologic
methods. � New figures depicting epidemiologic concepts.