REVIEW ARTICLE
MISUSAGE OF STATISTICS IN MEDICAL RESEARCH
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1
Uludag University, Medical Faculty, Department of Biostatistics, Bursa, Turkey
2
Anadolu University, Science Faculty, Department of Statistics, Eskisehir, Turkey
3
University of Science and Technology of China, Department of Statistics and Finance, School of Business, Hefei, China
Online publication date: 2007-07-15
Publication date: 2007-07-15
Corresponding author
Ilker Ercan
Department of Biostatistics, Medical Faculty, University
of Uludag, Gorukle, Bursa, Turkey
Tel: 902244428200 (21028), GSM: 905053781903, Fax:
902244428666
Eur J Gen Med 2007;4(3):128-134
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
The inappropriate use of statistical method and technique cause time and cost losts and it can
be misleading to other scientific researhes. So in this study the main statistical error sources in
medical research are discussed and aimed to be informative for researchers. The most common
statistical error sources are determined examining the previous medical researches and taking
errors into account occured in researches during statistical consulting. Inappropriate use of
statistics can be found in every stage of a medical research related to data analysis; design of
the experiment, data collection and pre-processing, analysis method and implementation, and
interpretation. We listed several error sources that researchers easily commit if they are lack of
solid statistical background. The mistakes in the studies mostly occur because of the researchers’
lack of statistical knowledge and since they don’t take statistical consulting. Unbiased, consistent,
and efficient parameter estimates are made in statistics science. This can be provided using
statistics from the planning until the end of the study. So it is neccessary to consult statisticians
at each stage of the studies.