title: 2 X 2 tables.
abstract: Fourfold (2 X 2) tables are used to describe enumeration data; they are concise and useful for summarizing many kinds of biomedical information. A familiar form is with two samples, each of which provides a two-valued outcome or observation, such as lived-died, normal-abnormal. These tables may be from research designs of several types: cross-sectional surveys, prospective models, retrospective models, and randomized clinical trials. Several methods of analysis of 2 X 2 tables are discussed, without the mathematical detail: chi 2 test, critical ratio test, Fisher's exact test, and other less commonly used tests. The use of the relative risk ratio and the odds ratio to describe 2 X 2 tables is discussed. Some pitfalls in the use and interpretation of 2 X 2 tables are reviewed.
mesh_terms: D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic / Q000379:methods; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D011336:Probability; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012107:Research Design; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013223:Statistics as Topic