The Design of Experiments: Statistical Principles for Practical Applications

In all the experimental sciences, good design of experiments is crucial to the success of research. Well-planned experiments can provide a great deal of information efficiently and can be used to test several hypotheses simultaneously. This book is about the statistical principles of good experimental design and is intended for all applied statisticians and practising scientists engaged in the design, implementation and analysis of experiments. Professor Mead has written the book with the emphasis on the logical principles of statistical design and employs a minimum of mathematics. Throughout he assumes that the large-scale analysis of data will be performed by computers and he is thus able to devote more attention to discussions of how all of the available information can be used to extract the clearest answers to many questions. The principles are illustrated with a wide range of examples drawn from medicine, agriculture, industry and other disciplines. Numerous exercises are given to help the reader practise techniques and to appreciate the difference that good design of experiments can make to a scientific project.