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Activity Number:
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197
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Type:
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Contributed
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Date/Time:
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Monday, August 7, 2006 : 2:00 PM to 3:50 PM
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Sponsor:
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Section on Teaching Statistics in the Health Sciences
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| Abstract - #306310 |
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Title:
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The Implications of the Increasing Sophistication of Statistical Methods in The New England Journal of Medicine
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Author(s):
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Suzanne Switzer*+ and Nicholas J. Horton
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Companies:
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Smith College and Smith College
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Address:
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Box 8416, Northampton, MA, 01063,
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Keywords:
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statistical education ; medical training
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Abstract:
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A recent survey of Original Articles published in The New England Journal of Medicine revealed increasing use of statistical methods over time, compared with surveys conducted in 1979 and 1989 (Emerson and Colditz). In 311 articles published in 2004-2005, a substantial fraction of articles utilized relatively sophisticated statistical methodologies such as survival analysis (61%), multiple regression (51%) or power calculations (39%). Only 13% of articles used just simple descriptive statistics (e.g. percentages, means, confidence intervals). Knowledge of material typically included in an introductory statistics course increased this percentage to only 21%. We will describe the implications of this increased use of sophisticated statistical methods for medical and statistical education.
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