# Science in the Courtroom Program 5: Basic Principles of Epidemiology

Federal Judicial Center ava20966vnb1.2 -- 4050-V/01 (2001) Science in the Courtroom Program 5: Basic Principles of Epidemiology This is the fifth of six programs in the FJC's Science in the Courtroom series. Dr. Leon Gordis, Professor of Epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, explains the basic principles of epidemiology, the field of public heath and medicine that studies the incidence, distribution, and causes of disease in human populations. Judges and juries are frequently presented with epidemiological evidence as the basis of an expert's opinion on causation in toxic tort cases. Dr. Gordis distinguishes the different types of study designs commonly used by epidemiologists. He then discusses how the results of epidemiologic studies can be interpreted, what sources of error might produce a false result in a study, how to evaluate the credentials of an epidemiologist who is a potential expert witness, and the role epidemiology plays in establishing general and specific causation. Dr. Gordis is a coauthor of the "Reference Guide on Epidemiology" in the Center's Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence (2d ed.).

- Kind: Educational
- Year: 2001
- By: Federal Judicial Center
- Genres: Education, Science
- Archive: [Internet Archive](https://archive.org/details/gov.ntis.ava20966vnb1.2)
- Licence or status: [Public domain (Creative Commons dedication)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/publicdomain/) (as the archive states it)
- Who can watch: Tweens profiles and older (the archive gives no rating; placed by Invisible Network from its collection and subjects)

Not offered: its uploader or archive marks it public domain, and nothing the site holds bears that out (its record gives no year, or a year from 1978 on, which no US term has left), so where it is free is not known. Unclear is not offered.