Background: The main problem in many model-building situations is to choose from a large set of covariates those that should be included in the "best" model. A decision to keep a variable in the model might be based on the clinical or statistical significance. There are several variable selection algorithms in existence. Those methods are mechanical and as such carry some limitations. Hosmer and Lemeshow describe a purposeful selection of covariates within which an analyst makes a variable selection decision at each step of the modeling process.
Several statistics have recently been proposed for the purpose of assessing the goodness of fit of an estimated logistic regression model. These statistics are reviewed and compared to other, less formal, procedures in the context of applications in epidemiologic research. One statistic is recommended for use and its computation is illustrated using data from a recent study of mortality of intensive care unit patients.
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