The clinician's guide to the literature: interpreting results.
BACKGROUND
Oral health care professionals must have up-to-date information to guide clinical practice. The peer-reviewed literature contains the most reliable and current information. The clinical research literature relies on statistical analysis of data to make inferences and draw conclusions. In this article, the authors explore the fundamental principles that underlie statistical testing.


CONCLUSIONS
Having the fundamental tools to critically interpret the results presented in the literature is one of the essential elements for appropriately translating clinical research into practice.
Greenberg
Barbara L
BL
Office of Research, New Jersey Dental School, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Newark, N.J. 07103, USA. greenbbl@umdnj.edu
Kantor
Mel L
ML
D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D018865:Dental Research; D006801:Humans; D033181:Information Dissemination / Q000379:methods; D017712:Peer Review, Research; D010506:Periodicals as Topic; D018401:Sample Size; D035501:Uncertainty