Re Katherine West's post on collecting data:

Another tool to consider is called Epi-Info. It's a DOS-based,
public-domain program (i.e., available for free) jointly developed by the
CDC and WHO.

Epi-Info allows you to create data-entry/survey forms, enter data, and do
some statistical analysis. It's easy to use, and lets you create forms very
quickly. You can also export the data into Excel for further analysis (and
presumably, into other statistical programs too, though I've never tried
that).


Regarding books: A good one to start with if you don't have much background
in Statistics is _The Cartoon Guide to Statistics_ by Larry Gonick and
Woollcott Smith.

If you're in the mood for a heavier read, try _Evaluation and Decision
Making for Health Services_ (2nd edition), by James E. Veney and Arnold D.
Kaluzny. (ISBN 0-910701-72-5) Dr. Veney teaches in the School of Public
Health at the University of North Carolina. I took his program evaluation
course last semester. We learned a lot about evaluating health programs,
including survey design and analysis.

The web page for this class is at: www.sph.unc.edu/courses/hpaa/emp/245/


With regards,

   Betty Meeler
   Durham, NC, USA