A survey of statistical methodology used in Ethiopian health science research journals

Results from many research efforts have been generated from the use of statistical methods. However, most researchers use data analysis as the only component of statistics to arrive at their results. There is a concern that this alone may not yield the appropriate result if it is not done with due understanding of and regard for study design, data acquisition techniques, choice of sample, and methods of statistical analysis. This paper attempts to document how much of these statistical methods are in use in Ethiopian health science research journals. All the original articles, in the two health science research journals--Ethiopian Medical Journal and The Ethiopian Journal of Health Development published between 1995 and 1999 were surveyed. A total of 232 papers were evaluated to see how far their authors have complied to these basic requirements as well as the statistical software used. The results of the survey demonstrate that in about 80% of the papers, the study design has been specified, 50% employed cross-sectional or survey designs, 14% provided detailed information on how sample size was determined and of this group 37% employed probabilistic selection methods. About 84% of the papers did not mention clearly what statistical methods they intended to employ to answer their research questions. Compared to others, attaching variability to a statistic using +/- SD or SE, t-statistics and P values were more frequently misused. Only 57% used computers to manage their data and do statistical analysis. EPI-INFO (a statistical software for Epidemiology) was used in 61% among the users of computer software. Considering the important roles of health science journals in guiding and updating good medical practice, low level and inappropriate use of statistical methodologies in the surveyed journals should give cause for concern. It is, therefore, recommended that a series of continuing education in statistics is done periodically to enhance the knowledge of health science researchers as well as editors and peer reviewers of health science journals to expand their background in statistical methods and acquaint them with new techniques.