What Do Anesthesiologists Know about p Values, Confidence Intervals, and Correlations: A Pilot Survey
Background. Statistical methods form the basis for clinical decision-making in evidence-based anesthesia. Data on the knowledge of anesthesiologists about statistics are lacking. This pilot study aims to provide a first impression of the anesthesiologists’ understanding of commonly used concepts in...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2017-01-01
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| Series: | Anesthesiology Research and Practice |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2017/4201289 |
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| author | Patrick Schober Sebastiaan M. Bossers Phi-Vu Dong Christa Boer Lothar A. Schwarte |
| author_facet | Patrick Schober Sebastiaan M. Bossers Phi-Vu Dong Christa Boer Lothar A. Schwarte |
| author_sort | Patrick Schober |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background. Statistical methods form the basis for clinical decision-making in evidence-based anesthesia. Data on the knowledge of anesthesiologists about statistics are lacking. This pilot study aims to provide a first impression of the anesthesiologists’ understanding of commonly used concepts in statistics. Methods. A cross-sectional pilot survey was performed at a major international anesthesia conference. The questionnaire consisted of three basic multiple-choice questions on the topics “p value,” “confidence interval,” and “correlation.” Results of the questions are reported as percentage of correct answers (95% confidence interval). Results. 65 questionnaires were analyzed. Forty participants were male, and mean age was 40 (standard deviation: 10) years. The question addressing the p value was correctly answered by 15% (95% CI: 8 to 27%) of respondents. The question concerning the 95% confidence interval was answered correctly by 28% (95% CI: 18 to 40%) of participants. For the question about correlation, a correct answer was given by 52% (95% CI: 40 to 64%). None of the participants answered all questions correctly, and 19 participants provided a wrong answer to all questions. Conclusions. Anesthesiologists seem to demonstrate a poor understanding of statistical key concepts. Further studies are needed to address statistical knowledge gaps among anesthesiologists more comprehensively. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4ef63df21710430f8cba082cd8eb22d9 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1687-6962 1687-6970 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2017-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Anesthesiology Research and Practice |
| spelling | doaj-art-4ef63df21710430f8cba082cd8eb22d92025-08-20T02:05:35ZengWileyAnesthesiology Research and Practice1687-69621687-69702017-01-01201710.1155/2017/42012894201289What Do Anesthesiologists Know about p Values, Confidence Intervals, and Correlations: A Pilot SurveyPatrick Schober0Sebastiaan M. Bossers1Phi-Vu Dong2Christa Boer3Lothar A. Schwarte4Department of Anesthesiology, VU University Medical Center, De Boelelaan 1117, 1081 HV Amsterdam, NetherlandsDepartment of Anesthesiology, VU University Medical Center, De Boelelaan 1117, 1081 HV Amsterdam, NetherlandsDepartment of Anesthesiology, Catharina Hospital, Michelangelolaan 2, 5623 EJ Eindhoven, NetherlandsDepartment of Anesthesiology, VU University Medical Center, De Boelelaan 1117, 1081 HV Amsterdam, NetherlandsDepartment of Anesthesiology, VU University Medical Center, De Boelelaan 1117, 1081 HV Amsterdam, NetherlandsBackground. Statistical methods form the basis for clinical decision-making in evidence-based anesthesia. Data on the knowledge of anesthesiologists about statistics are lacking. This pilot study aims to provide a first impression of the anesthesiologists’ understanding of commonly used concepts in statistics. Methods. A cross-sectional pilot survey was performed at a major international anesthesia conference. The questionnaire consisted of three basic multiple-choice questions on the topics “p value,” “confidence interval,” and “correlation.” Results of the questions are reported as percentage of correct answers (95% confidence interval). Results. 65 questionnaires were analyzed. Forty participants were male, and mean age was 40 (standard deviation: 10) years. The question addressing the p value was correctly answered by 15% (95% CI: 8 to 27%) of respondents. The question concerning the 95% confidence interval was answered correctly by 28% (95% CI: 18 to 40%) of participants. For the question about correlation, a correct answer was given by 52% (95% CI: 40 to 64%). None of the participants answered all questions correctly, and 19 participants provided a wrong answer to all questions. Conclusions. Anesthesiologists seem to demonstrate a poor understanding of statistical key concepts. Further studies are needed to address statistical knowledge gaps among anesthesiologists more comprehensively.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2017/4201289 |
| spellingShingle | Patrick Schober Sebastiaan M. Bossers Phi-Vu Dong Christa Boer Lothar A. Schwarte What Do Anesthesiologists Know about p Values, Confidence Intervals, and Correlations: A Pilot Survey Anesthesiology Research and Practice |
| title | What Do Anesthesiologists Know about p Values, Confidence Intervals, and Correlations: A Pilot Survey |
| title_full | What Do Anesthesiologists Know about p Values, Confidence Intervals, and Correlations: A Pilot Survey |
| title_fullStr | What Do Anesthesiologists Know about p Values, Confidence Intervals, and Correlations: A Pilot Survey |
| title_full_unstemmed | What Do Anesthesiologists Know about p Values, Confidence Intervals, and Correlations: A Pilot Survey |
| title_short | What Do Anesthesiologists Know about p Values, Confidence Intervals, and Correlations: A Pilot Survey |
| title_sort | what do anesthesiologists know about p values confidence intervals and correlations a pilot survey |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2017/4201289 |
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