Abstract

Sixty-two reports that appeared as Papers and Originals (excluding short reports) in 13 consecutive issues of the British Medical journal included statistical analysis. Thirty-two had statistical errors of one kind or another; in 18 fairly serious faults were discovered. The summaries of five reports made some claim that was unsupportable on re-examination of the data. Medical investigators should consult with people who have a real understanding of statistical methods throughout their projects.

Keywords

Statistical analysisData scienceComputer scienceStatistical evidenceOperations researchMedicineStatisticsEngineeringMathematics

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Publication Info

Year
1977
Type
article
Volume
1
Issue
6053
Pages
85-87
Citations
238
Access
Closed

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Cite This

S M Gore, Iolen Jones, Elisif Rytter (1977). Misuse of statistical methods: critical assessment of articles in BMJ from January to March 1976.. BMJ , 1 (6053) , 85-87. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.1.6053.85

Identifiers

DOI
10.1136/bmj.1.6053.85