Survey of statistical methods used in the veterinary medical literature

Articles published in 1992 in 6 veterinary journals were reviewed. In 51% of the articles, statistical analyses were not performed or only descriptive statistics (eg, mean, median, standard deviation) were used. The most commonly used statistical tests were ANOVA and t-tests. Knowledge of 5 categories of statistical methods (ANOVA, t-tests, contingency tables, nonparametric tests, and simple linear regression) permitted access to 90% of the veterinary literature surveyed. These data may be useful when modifying the veterinary curriculum to reflect current statistical usage.