Statistical Analyses and Methods in the Published Literature: The SAMPL Guidelines*
Thomas A. Lang
Tom Lang Communications and Training International, Kirkland, WA USA
Search for more papers by this authorDouglas G. Altman
Centre for Statistics in Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
Search for more papers by this authorThomas A. Lang
Tom Lang Communications and Training International, Kirkland, WA USA
Search for more papers by this authorDouglas G. Altman
Centre for Statistics in Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
Search for more papers by this authorDavid Moher
Ottawa Hospital Research Institute and University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
Search for more papers by this authorDouglas G. Altman
Centre for Statistics in Medicine, University of Oxford and EQUATOR Network, Oxford, UK
Search for more papers by this authorKenneth F. Schulz
FHI360, Durham, and UNC School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
Search for more papers by this authorIveta Simera
Centre for Statistics in Medicine, University of Oxford and EQUATOR Network Oxford, UK
Search for more papers by this authorSummary
The Statistical Analyses and Methods in the Published Literature (SAMPL) guidelines are designed to be included in a journal's “Instructions for Authors”. These guidelines tell authors, journal editors, and reviewers how to report basic statistical methods and results. Although these guidelines are limited to the most common statistical analyses, they are nevertheless sufficient to prevent most of the reporting deficiencies routinely found in scientific articles. This chapter discusses guiding principles for reporting statistical methods and results, general principles for reporting statistical methods, and general principles for reporting statistical results. The general principles for reporting statistical results includes: reporting analyses of variance (ANOVA) or of covariance (ANCOVA), reporting Bayesian analyses, reporting survival (time'to-event) analyses, reporting regression analyses, reporting correlation analyses, reporting association analyses, reporting hypothesis tests, reporting risk, rates, and ratios, and reporting numbers and descriptive statistics.
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