A guide for authors and readers of the American Society for Nutrition Journals on the proper use of P values and strategies that promote transparency and improve research reproducibility
Author
Sorkin, John DManary, Mark
Smeets, Paul A M
MacFarlane, Amanda J
Astrup, Arne
Prigeon, Ronald L
Hogans, Beth B
Odle, Jack
Davis, Teresa A
Tucker, Katherine L
Duggan, Christopher P
Tobias, Deirdre K
Date
2021-07-13Journal
American Journal of Clinical NutritionPublisher
Oxford University PressType
Article
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Show full item recordAbstract
Two questions regarding the scientific literature have become grist for public discussion: 1) what place should P values have in reporting the results of studies? 2) How should the perceived difficulty in replicating the results reported in published studies be addressed? We consider these questions to be 2 sides of the same coin; failing to address them can lead to an incomplete or incorrect message being sent to the reader. If P values (which are derived from the estimate of the effect size and a measure of the precision of the estimate of the effect) are used improperly, for example reporting only significant findings, or reporting P values without account for multiple comparisons, or failing to indicate the number of tests performed, the scientific record can be biased. Moreover, if there is a lack of transparency in the conduct of a study and reporting of study results, it will not be possible to repeat a study in a manner that allows inferences from the original study to be reproduced or to design and conduct a different experiment whose aim is to confirm the original study's findings. The goal of this article is to discuss how P values can be used in a manner that is consistent with the scientific method, and to increase transparency and reproducibility in the conduct and analysis of nutrition research.Rights/Terms
Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Society for Nutrition 2021.Identifier to cite or link to this item
http://hdl.handle.net/10713/16945ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1093/ajcn/nqab223
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