Promoting good research practice

Embarking on a new millennium provides the stimulus both to take stock and also to look forward. In the field of medical statistics there is much to make us feel proud and excited. Rapid methodological developments together with parallel developments in computer technology have enormously expanded our statistical repertoire. At the same time, the high profile attained by the evidence-based medicine movement means that the importance of our discipline is recognized more widely then ever before. However, any medical statistician who is involved in medical publishing, or who is even a regular reader of the medical literature, must be aware of the yawning chasm between what is recognized as good statistical practice and what is actually published. Poor study design, inappropriate analysis and selective reporting are commonplace. In my opinion the most important challenge currently facing our profession is the task of bridging this chasm.