<b>Assessment of the use of statistical methods in articles published in a journal of veterinary science from 2000 to 2010</b> - doi: 10.4025/actascitechnol.v35i1.13753

Abstract

Statistics is a key tool to validate the conclusions of scientific papers. However, errors in using this method, including the use of low power tests and inadequate analysis of the studies are still frequent. This research identified, through a census of 307 articles published between 2000 and 2010 in the Journal Archives of Veterinary Science, that 34% of the papers had made conclusions without statistical support, 34% were supported by statistical methods inadequate to the evaluated database, whereas only 32% have presented conclusions based on statistical methods consistent with the structure of the analyzed data. Furthermore, the percentage of inadequate conclusions may be even higher, of up to 47%, since some of the articles that had not used statistical analysis should have applied some method for the validation of their conclusions. The results presented herein warn against the misuse of statistical methods that compromise the quality and reliability of the conclusions presented in most papers.

Keywords

• assumptions
• experimental design
• statistical analysis