title: The importance of meaning.
abstract: In the last incarnation of this column, we were reminded of the importance of accuracy, narrowly operationalized as understanding the difference between the population parameter (beta) and our estimate of that parameter through regression. Here, we will remind ourselves of the importance of meaning, operationalized as understanding the meaning of the magnitude of the difference in addition to its statistical significance.
authors.affiliation: Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health, Department of Biostatistics, 722 West 168th Street, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10032, USA. rdv2@columbia.edu
authors.forename: Roger D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Vaughan
mesh_terms: D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D006801:Humans; D011634:Public Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012107:Research Design; D018401:Sample Size; D009626:Terminology as Topic