Statical: Evaluation of an open access biostatistics tool

Area of Science:

• Biostatistics
• Clinical Research Methodology
• Medical Informatics

Background:

• Statistical analysis is vital in clinical research but often inaccessible to clinicians due to lack of training.
• StatiCAL was developed as a user-friendly, no-code tool to bridge this gap.
• This study assesses StatiCAL's real-world effectiveness and usability among physicians.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of StatiCAL in enabling physicians to conduct statistical analyses.
• To assess the usability and user experience of StatiCAL among surgical physicians.
• To determine if StatiCAL improves efficiency in statistical analysis for clinicians.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study design was employed.
• Fourteen surgical physicians with varying statistical experience analyzed a clinical dataset using StatiCAL.
• Usability was measured using the French System Usability Scale (F-SUS), and analyses were verified using R.

Main Results:

• All 14 participants successfully completed assigned statistical tasks using StatiCAL.
• The average task completion time was 28 minutes, with less experienced participants finishing faster (p=0.044).
• A high average F-SUS score of 85.33 indicated excellent usability.

Conclusions:

• StatiCAL demonstrates high usability and effectiveness for clinicians performing statistical analyses.
• The tool facilitates efficient and accurate statistical analysis, enhancing research accessibility.
• StatiCAL supports broader biostatistics engagement and simplifies clinical research processes.