In statistics, specifically survival analysis, one often talks about the number of survivors and decedents in a cohort. What would be an appropriate word to describe the two groups?
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Forgive me if it's a dumb question, but doesn't that include everyone in the cohort?– Thomas FrancoisJun 29, 2016 at 13:46
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@thomas-francois: I thought so as well, but in these types of studies there is usually a third group; people who have dropped out of a study and are dealt with separately. As I understand it, this third group also forms part of the cohort.– lafrasJun 29, 2016 at 13:51
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2Can you write a detailed example sentence where the word would be used?– user140086Jun 29, 2016 at 13:54
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1What are they surviving (or not)? Are they victims of some event? If so, you can use victims.– DrewJun 29, 2016 at 17:00
1 Answer
The APA Style site recommends the terms participants or subjects, noting:
...for more than 100 years the term subjects has been used within experimental psychology as a general starting point for describing a sample, and its use is appropriate.
So survivors, decedents, and dropouts as a whole constitute the initial subjects of the study; the survivors and decedents who remained are the subjects who are entered into the analysis.