Peer reviewed article Statistical errors in medical research – a review of common pitfalls

Background: standards in the use of statistics in medical research are generally low. A growing body of literature points to persistent statistical errors, flaws and deficiencies in most medical journals. Methods: in this paper we present a compre-hensive review of common statistical pitfalls which can occur at different stages in the scientific re-search process, ranging from planning a study, through conducting statistical data analysis and documenting statistical methods applied, to the presentation of study data and interpretation of study results. Results: 47 potential statistical errors and short-comings, differentiated for the distinct phases o