Towards better research: a discussion of some common mistakes in statistical analyses.

Statistical errors are common in clinical research. This paper presents a set of hypothetical but realistic scenarios in complementary medicine research. Each scenario contains at least one mistake typical of those made in analyses. These are discussed. The general principles are that charts and sum...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Publicado en:Complementary Therapies in Medicine Vol. 8; no. 1; pp. 37 - 43
Autores principales: Hart A, Hart, A
Formato: tables/charts Journal Article
Publicado: Elsevier B.V. 2000 Mar
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
Descripción
Sumario:Statistical errors are common in clinical research. This paper presents a set of hypothetical but realistic scenarios in complementary medicine research. Each scenario contains at least one mistake typical of those made in analyses. These are discussed. The general principles are that charts and summary statistics can be misleading or even meaningless if not chosen carefully; objectives of the research need to be clearly defined and related to statistical hypotheses; assumptions of tests need to be checked; discussing the practical implications of observed effects is better than merely quoting P-values and data trawling should be avoided.