title: The inexact use of Fisher's Exact Test in six major medical journals.
abstract: We reviewed the use of Fisher's Exact Test in 71 articles published between 1983 and 1987 in six medical journals. Thirty-three of 56 selected articles did not specify use of a one- or two-tailed test, and 12 (36%) of these actually used the one-tailed test. Five (42%) of these 12 articles contained at least one table in which the standard significance level of P less than .05 was no longer met when a two-tailed analysis was run instead. Eleven (65%) of 17 articles with a statistical consultant compared with 10 (28%) of 36 articles without a consultant specified use of a one- or two-sided test. The use of Fisher's Exact Test without specification as a one- or two-tailed version may misrepresent the statistical significance of data. A uniform specification statement should be required for all manuscripts to correct such potential errors in interpretation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.
authors.forename: W P
authors.initials: WP
authors.lastname: McKinney
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Young
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hartz
authors.forename: M B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D010506:Periodicals as Topic; D012107:Research Design; D013223:Statistics as Topic