A Dictionary of Epidemiology

作者：Lorenzo Richiardi · 发表于：International Journal of Epidemiology · 年份：2014 · DOI：10.1093/ije/dyu238 · 被引用次数：332 · 研究领域：Historical and modern epidemiology studies、Food Security and Health in Diverse Populations、Public Health Policies and Education

When glancing at the cover of the sixth edition of A Dictionary of Epidemiology, the first question that came to mind was whether a new edition of the dictionary was really necessary in an era when everything or almost everything can be found on the internet. It is a difficult question: instead of discussing whether a book is good or not, we debate whether it makes sense to have it in the first place. I will not hold back: a dictionary is absolutely necessary and it is a pleasure to hold the new edition and browse through it. Miquel Porta, editor of the fifth and sixth editions, discusses precisely this issue in the preface (very entertaining: recommended reading!) and suggests that ‘[the dictionary] can be more relevant and useful than ever before because nowadays we suffer from an unprecedented level of air pollution, noise and potential confusion’. We need an authoritative reference, even if we all know that definitions are never definitive and are often controversial. Indeed, being able to offer different views and modify definitions over time is a sign of authoritativeness. However, my view may just be outdated and isolated, so I asked 11 close colleagues, including senior and junior epidemiologists and biostatisticians, what source they would use for the definition of epidemiology when preparing teaching material. It was an open question, so they could cite more than one source. In total, seven colleagues would have used an influential textbook—I will not report titles ...