Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Standardizing statistics and data reporting in orthopaedic research

  • General Review
  • Published:
European Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery & Traumatology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

As the demand for research within orthopaedic surgery continues to grow, it is important to emphasize appropriate data reporting. Insufficient statistical reporting confounds data interpretation and makes it difficult to compare results. Currently, there are no guidelines for reporting results within the orthopaedic literature. This article discusses the importance of appropriate data reporting and proposes guidelines for presenting orthopaedic data to highlight clinical relevance rather than statistical significance.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References:

  1. Jules-Elysee KM, Tseng A, Sculco TP et al (2019) Comparison of topical and intravenous tranexamic acid for total knee replacement: a randomized double-blinded controlled study of effects on tranexamic acid levels and thrombogenic and inflammatory marker levels. J Bone Joint Surg Am 101(23):2120–2128. https://doi.org/10.2106/JBJS.19.00258

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  2. Panagiotakos DB (2008) Value of p value in biomedical research. Open Cardiovasc Med J 2:97–99. https://doi.org/10.2174/1874192400802010097

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  3. Sullivan GM, Feinn R (2012) Using effect size-or why the P value is not enough. J Grad Med Educ 4(3):279–282. https://doi.org/10.4300/JGME-D-12-00156.1

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  4. Dahiru T (2008) P - value, a true test of statistical significance? A cautionary note. Ann Ib Postgrad Med 6(1):21–26. https://doi.org/10.4314/aipm.v6i1.64038

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  5. Houle TT (2007) Statistical reporting for current and future readers. Anesthesiology 107(2):193–194. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.anes.0000271870.76451.c9

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Spreckelsen TF (2018) Editorial: Changes in the field: banning p values (or not), transparency, and the opportunities of a renewed discussion on rigorous (quantitative) research. Child Adolesc Mental Health 23(2):61–62. https://doi.org/10.1111/camh.12277

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Hoenig JM, Heisey DM (2001) The abuse of power: the pervasive fallacy of power calculations for data analysis. Am Stat 55(1):19–24. https://doi.org/10.1198/000313001300339897

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Weinberg CR (2001) It’s time to rehabilitate the P value. Epidemiology (Cambridge, Mass.) 12(3):288–290. https://doi.org/10.1097/00001648-200105000-00004

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Kelley K, Preacher KJ (2012) On effect size. Psychol Methods 17(2):137–152

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Barde MP, Barde PJ (2012) What to use to express the variability of data: Standard deviation or standard error of mean? Perspect Clin Res 3(3):113–116. https://doi.org/10.4103/2229-3485.100662

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  11. Greenland S, Senn SJ, Rothman KJ et al (2016) Statistical tests, P values, confidence intervals, and power: a guide to misinterpretations. Eur J Epidemiol 31(4):337–350. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10654-016-0149-3

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  12. Wilkinson L (1999) Statistical methods in psychology journals: guidelines and explanations. Am Psychol 54(8):594–604. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.54.8.594

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Kraemer HC (2019) Is it time to ban the p value [published online ahead of print, 2019 Aug 7]. JAMA Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2019.1965

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Staffa SJ, Zurakowski D (2020) Calculation of confidence intervals for differences in medians between groups and comparison of methods. Anesth Analg 130(2):542–546. https://doi.org/10.1213/ANE.0000000000004535

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Shehata MSA, Aboelnas MM, Abdulkarim AN et al (2019) Sliding hip screws versus cancellous screws for femoral neck fractures: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Eur J Orthop Surg Traumatol 29(7):1383–1393. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00590-019-02460-0

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Petrie A (2006) Statistics in orthopaedic papers. J Bone Joint Surg Br 88(9):1121–1136. https://doi.org/10.1302/0301-620X.88B9.17896

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. du Prel JB, Röhrig B, Hommel G, Blettner M (2010) Choosing statistical tests: part 12 of a series on evaluation of scientific publications. Dtsch Arztebl Int 107(19):343–348. https://doi.org/10.3238/arztebl.2010.0343

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  18. Windish DM, Diener-West M (2006) A clinician-educator’s roadmap to choosing and interpreting statistical tests [published correction appears in J Gen Intern Med. 2006 Sep 21(9):1009]. J Gen Intern Med 21(6):656–660. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1525-1497.2006.00390.x

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  19. De Muth JE (2009) Overview of biostatistics used in clinical research. Am J Health Syst Pharm 66(1):70–81. https://doi.org/10.2146/ajhp070006

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. An overview of correlation measures between categorical and continuous variables. Outside Two Standard Deviations. September 2018. https://medium.com/@outside2SDs/an-overview-of-correlation-measures-between-categorical-and-continuous-variables-4c7f85610365. Accessed October 29, 2020.

Download references

Funding

No funding was received for conducting this study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Joshua A. Parry.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

Cyril Mauffrey has the following disclosures: Abbott: other financial or material support; CarboFix: research support; Current Opinion in Orthopaedics: editorial or governing board; DePuy, A Johnson & Johnson Company: other financial or material support; International Orthopaedics: editorial or governing board; La Societe Internationale de Chirurgie Orthopedique et de Traumatologie: board or committee member; Orthopaedic Trauma Association: board or committee member; Osteomed: research support; Patient Safety in Surgery: editorial or governing board; Springer: publishing royalties, financial or material support; Stryker: paid consultant, unpaid consultant; The European Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology: editorial or governing board. Joshua Parry has the following disclosures: The European Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology: editorial or governing board. None of the remaining authors have anything to disclose.

Ethical Approval

This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Strage, K.E., Parry, J.A. & Mauffrey, C. Standardizing statistics and data reporting in orthopaedic research. Eur J Orthop Surg Traumatol 31, 1–6 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00590-020-02843-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00590-020-02843-8

Keywords

Navigation