Survival Analyses is a statistical method used to analyze data in medical sciences. The spelling of this word is "sərˈvaɪvəl əˈnæləsɪz". The first syllable is pronounced as "sər" as in "serve". The second syllable is pronounced as "vaɪv" as in "dive". The third syllable is pronounced as "əl" as in "pal". The fourth syllable is pronounced as "ə" as in "the". The fifth syllable is pronounced as "næləsɪz" as in "analyses". Knowing the correct spelling and pronunciation of this word is essential for researchers in the medical field.
Survival analysis is a statistical method used to analyze and understand the time it takes for an event of interest to occur. It is a branch of statistics commonly applied in medical research and other fields where the primary outcome is time-to-event data.
Survival analyses involve studying the probability of an event not occurring within a specific time frame or the amount of time it takes for an event to occur. The event of interest can vary widely, including death, disease recurrence, failure of a mechanical system, or any other event that involves a time component.
The key concept in survival analysis is censoring, which occurs when the event of interest has not occurred for some individuals at the end of the study or observation period. Censoring is an essential consideration since it does not provide full information about the time to failure, leading to the development of statistical methods specifically designed to handle such data.
Survival analyses employ a variety of statistical techniques such as Kaplan-Meier estimation, Cox proportional hazards regression, and parametric survival models. These methods allow researchers to estimate survival probabilities, hazard rates, and to identify factors affecting the risk of an event occurring.
Survival analysis has broad applications in medical research, including clinical trials, epidemiology, and health outcomes research. It also finds use in engineering, social sciences, and other fields where understanding time-to-event data is critical for decision-making and prediction purposes.
The etymology of the word "survival analyses" can be understood by examining the roots of the individual words.
1. Survival: The word "survival" comes from the Latin word "supervīvēre", which means "to live beyond". It is derived from the prefix "super", meaning "above" or "beyond", and the verb "vīvēre", meaning "to live".
2. Analyses: The word "analyses" is derived from the Greek word "analysis", which means "a breaking up" or "a loosening". It stems from the verb "analyzein", which means "to undo" or "to examine". In English, the plural form "analyses" indicates more than one instance of analysis.