PMID: 2483622May 1, 1989Paper

Chi 2 tests: how useful are they in the analysis of medical research data?

Annali di igiene : medicina preventiva e di comunità
J F Osborn

Abstract

This paper has outlined analyses of data for which the chi 2 test is commonly applied and has shown that on its own, a chi 2 test provides very little information about the interpretation of the data. In goodness to fit tests, at best, the chi 2 test is a mere first step in the interpretation of the data and much more information can be gleaned from the deviations between the observed and theoretical distributions, and graphical methods are more sensitive for assessing Normality. Similarly, the chi 2 test as the analysis of a 2 x 2 contingency table misses the most important features of the data. A chi 2 value and associated p value should not be presented without an estimation of the effect and its confidence interval. The use of NS, (not significant), after a chi 2 value (or any other test statistic) is particularly meaningless as it does not even specify a level of significance. The analysis of 2 x 2 contingency tables should specify a measure of the effect such as the difference between two proportions, their ratio or the odds ratio. Confidence intervals should be calculated and least importantly, statistical significance assessed by the Standard Normal Deviate. Chi 2 has no useful role to play in the analysis of 2 x 2 cont...Continue Reading

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