Resource of the Week #39: One More Set of Statistics Resources

Hello again. I hope 2012 has started well for you.

In response to the most recent Resource of the Week, a reader commented, “It is very easy to use statistical methods incorrectly.”

I agree. Too often, for example, researchers use the wrong statistical tests. Doing the calculations correctly is of no value if the test is inappropriate.

The comment reminded me of a 7-article series in the AMWA [American Medical Writers Association] Journal. The series is titled “Common Statistical Errors Even YOU Can Find”. It is by Tom Lang—an editor, writer, and trainer with expertise in statistics.

Topics of the articles are as follows:

• “Errors in descriptive statistics and in interpreting probability values”
• “Errors in multivariate analyses and in interpreting differences between groups”
• “Errors in data displays”
• “Errors in correlation and regression analyses”
• “Errors in reports of diagnostic tests”
• “Errors in research designs”
• “Common errors in conclusions”

The articles are now openly accessible, and I’ve provided links to them above and in the AuthorAID Resource Library.

Well, that’s enough about statistics for now! Our next Resource of the Week will be on another topic.

Until the next post— Barbara