Use of Statistical Analysis in<i>The New England Journal of Medicine</i>

Emerson, John D.; Colditz, Graham A.

doi:10.1056/nejm198309223091206

Cited by 189 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…The categorization scheme was similar to that described by Emerson and Colditz, 8 however, some modifications were required to incorporate more recently introduced statistical methods (Table 1). Additional methods included in our categorization included kappa for agreement, Bland-Altman analysis, univariable logistic regression, multivariable logistic regression, analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), generalized estimated equations, linear mixed models and Bayesian analysis.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of Statistical Analyses in the Ophthalmic Literature

et al. 2014

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Purpose To identify the most commonly used statistical analyses in the ophthalmic literature and to determine the likely gain in comprehension of the literature that readers could expect if they were to sequentially add knowledge of more advanced techniques to their statistical repertoire. Design Cross-sectional study Methods All articles published from January 2012 to December 2012 in Ophthalmology, American Journal of Ophthalmology and Archives of Ophthalmology were reviewed. A total of 780 peer-reviewed articles were included. Two reviewers examined each article and assigned categories to each one depending on the type of statistical analyses used. Discrepancies between reviewers were resolved by consensus. Main Outcome Measures Total number and percentage of articles containing each category of statistical analysis were obtained. Additionally we estimated the accumulated number and percentage of articles that a reader would be expected to be able to interpret depending on their statistical repertoire. Results Readers with little or no statistical knowledge would be expected to be able to interpret the statistical methods presented in only 20.8% of articles. In order to understand more than half (51.4%) of the articles published, readers were expected to be familiar with at least 15 different statistical methods. Knowledge of 21 categories of statistical methods was necessary to comprehend 70.9% of articles, while knowledge of more than 29 categories was necessary to comprehend more than 90% of articles. Articles in retina and glaucoma subspecialties showed a tendency for using more complex analysis when compared to cornea. Conclusions Readers of clinical journals in ophthalmology need to have substantial knowledge of statistical methodology to understand the results of published studies in the literature. The frequency of use of complex statistical analyses also indicates that those involved in the editorial peer-review process must have sound statistical knowledge in order to critically appraise articles submitted for publication. The results of this study could provide guidance to direct the statistical learning of clinical ophthalmologists, researchers and educators involved in the design of courses for residents and medical students.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of Statistical Analyses in the Ophthalmic Literature

et al. 2014

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“…c. Articles about BIA, TBK and dilution techniques standardisation (Deurenberg et al, 1988;Kushner et al, 1996;National Institutes of Health Technology Assessment Conference Statement, 1994;Schoeller et al, 1985;Schoeller, 1996b;Lykken et al, 1983). d. Articles about the use of statistics in scientific literature (Altman, 1980(Altman, , 1991Altman et al, 1983;Emerson & Colditz, 1983;Gardner et al, 1983;Jenicek, 1989). e. Views expressed by the authors who have some knowledge and experience in the area: two medical physicists, one paediatrician and one physician.…”

Section: Scale Development Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Total body water measurement using bioelectrical impedance analysis, isotope dilution and total body potassium: a scoring system to facilitate intercomparison

et al. 2002

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Objectives: (1) To develop a scale that is useful in evaluating the accuracy of multifrequency bioelectrical impedance analysis (MF-BIA) in the assessment of body water volumes against the accepted gold standard measurements based on isotope-dilution and total body potassium (TBK). (2) To perform a pilot test of the scale. Design: A scale was developed to evaluate the accuracy of MF-BIA in the assessment of body water volumes. Questions were obtained from reading the scientific literature and discussions involving the four authors. Three of these and two additional independent readers pre-tested the scale. A weighting was identified for each question and a pilot test with a sample of 10 articles (different to those used for the questionnaire performance) was conducted. A further validation was carried out with a second set of 20 articles and two additional independent readers. Results: The kappa statistic expressing the level of agreement between pairs of the first three authors using this scale with 10 articles, was 0.3, 0.4 and 0.6 after the first attempt. A second evaluation after specific changes improved the agreement to 0.8, 0.6 and 0.8. The mean score for 10 articles was 252 AE 36 points from a total score of 400 (63 AE 9%). The evaluation with the second set of 20 articles resulted in a k of 0.7 from two pairs of authors. The evaluation with two additional reviewers resulted in a k ¼ 0.7. Conclusion: A tool has been developed to assess the accuracy of the MF-BIA technique and to identify methodological components, plan future studies and critically evaluate data in this area. It is likely that this tool may also be used to assess the accuracy of single frequency studies.

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“…The types of statistical designs/methods and the quality of statistical and methodological reporting in medical publications have been established in anesthesia [47] , internal medicine [48] , bone and joint surgery [49] , clinical trials [50] , otolaryngology [51] , rehabilitation [52,53] , ophthalmology [54] , as well as for abstracts [55,56] and various journals: Transfusion [57] , New England Journal of Medicine [58,59] , Arthritis and Rheumatism [60] , and Chinese medical journals [61] . …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing Statistical Applications in Publications on Alzheimer’s Disease

et al. 2007

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Background/Aims: To evaluate statistical applications in publications on Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Methods: Three instruments/checklists were developed: Assessment of Statistical Reporting (ASR; 44 items), Survey of Statistical Designs (SSD; 10 items), and Survey of Statistical Methods (SSM; 7 items). After a pilot testing on 5 AD publications, the instruments/checklists were revised and tested for reliability with a sample of 30 AD articles and for validity with another sample of 10 AD articles from MEDLINE. Results: Item-specific test-retest and interrater reliability for ASR ranged from 0.29 to 1.0 with the associated standard errors (SEs) ranging from 0.01 to 0.31. The test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.94, 95% CI: 0.88–0.97) and the interrater reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.84, 95% CI: 0.69–0.92) for the overall score of ASR were high. The correlational validity of the ASR with a published checklist was also high (r = 0.74, SE = 0.24). The item-specific test-retest reliability in SSD and SSM ranged from 0.58 to 1.00 with the associated SEs ranging from 0.01 to 0.32. The item-specific interrater reliability in SSD and SSM ranged from 0.17 to 1.00 with the associated SEs ranging from 0.01 to 0.22. Conclusions: This study suggested that it was feasible to assess statistical applications in AD publications.

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Use of Statistical Analysis inThe New England Journal of Medicine

Cited by 189 publications

References 3 publications

Use of Statistical Analyses in the Ophthalmic Literature

Use of Statistical Analyses in the Ophthalmic Literature

Total body water measurement using bioelectrical impedance analysis, isotope dilution and total body potassium: a scoring system to facilitate intercomparison

Assessing Statistical Applications in Publications on Alzheimer’s Disease

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