title: Statistics: curse of the writing class.
abstract: Research projects and reports may fail because of investigators' misunderstandings about the principles underlying basic data analysis. Such errors may taint otherwise valid conclusions; related mistakes may serve to falsely support incorrect results. This article explains some of the principles underlying the use of statistical analysis for normally distributed interval data and explores the potential ramifications of misusing summary statistical tests on non-normal distributions. A discussion of the meaning of the statement of probability concerning hypothesis testing and a suggested attitude for researchers toward significance testing is also included.
authors.affiliation: Henry M. Jackson Foundation for Military Medicine, Rockville, MD.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lorton
authors.forename: M P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Rethman
mesh_terms: D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D013223:Statistics as Topic