title: Common pitfalls in statistical analysis: Clinical versus statistical significance.
abstract: In clinical research, study results, which are statistically significant are often interpreted as being clinically important. While statistical significance indicates the reliability of the study results, clinical significance reflects its impact on clinical practice. The third article in this series exploring pitfalls in statistical analysis clarifies the importance of differentiating between statistical significance and clinical significance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesiology, Division of Thoracic Surgery, Tata Memorial Centre, Parel, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
authors.forename: Priya
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ranganathan
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Oncology, Division of Thoracic Surgery, Tata Memorial Centre, Parel, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
authors.forename: C S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Pramesh
authors.affiliation: International Drug Development Institute, Hasselt University, Belgium, Europe.
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Buyse
keywords: Biostatistics; confidence intervals; data interpretation; statistical