title: Statistical inference is overemphasized in cluster investigations: the case of the cluster of breast cancers at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation studios in Brisbane, Australia.
abstract: The aim of statistical analyses in cluster investigations is to estimate the probability that the aggregation of cases could be due to chance. As a result of several statistical problems - including the post-hoc nature of the analysis and the subjective nature of implied multiple comparisons - this cannot be carried out with any certainty. In cluster investigations, expert opinion should carry much more weight than P-values, which are exceedingly difficult to interpret.
authors.affiliation: School of Population Health, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. m.coory@uq.edu.au
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Coory
mesh_terms: D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans