Basics, common errors and essentials of statistical tools and techniques in anesthesiology research

Abstract

The statistical portion is a vital component of any research study. The research methodology and the application of statistical tools and techniques have evolved over the years and have significantly helped the research activities throughout the globe. The results and inferences are not accurately possible without proper validation with various statistical tools and tests. The evidencebased anesthesia research and practice has to incorporate statistical tools in the methodology right from the planning stage of the study itself. Though the medical fraternity is well acquainted with the significance of statistics in research, there is a lack of in-depth knowledge about the various statistical concepts and principles among majority of the researchers. The clinical impact and consequences can be serious as the incorrect analysis, conclusions, and false results may construct an artificial platform on which future research activities are replicated. The present tutorial is an attempt to make anesthesiologists aware of the various aspects of statistical methods used in evidence-based research and also to highlight the common areas where maximum number of statistical errors are committed so as to adopt better statistical practices.

Keywords: Confidence interval; research studies; statistics; study design; type-I error; type-II error.

Figure 1

A general classification of epidemiological research studies

Figure 2

Showing a bell-shaped curve of normal (Gaussian) distribution of the data