Type II (beta) errors in the hand literature: the importance of power

The Journal of Hand Surgery
K C ChungR A Hayward

Abstract

When a study concludes that there is no difference between 2 treatments ("negative studies"), it is essential to determine whether the study has sufficient power to find a clinically significant difference. Insufficient power precludes an adequate assessment of therapeutic efficacy and may result in a type II error, an erroneous conclusion that the null hypothesis is correct. In evaluating 39 studies that highlighted negative findings in The Journal of Hand Surgery, we found that 32 (82%) papers had a power of less than .80 to detect a 25% treatment effect and, when the treatment effect was increased to 50%, more than one half of the studies still had a power of 0.80. These "negative studies" frequently have inadequate statistical power to support their conclusions. These findings have important implications for researchers, editors, and readers.

References

Jan 1, 1997·The American Journal of Sports Medicine·M L GreenfieldE M Wojtys

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Citations

Nov 16, 2004·The Journal of Hand Surgery : Journal of the British Society for Surgery of the Hand·S Sauerland, T R C Davis
Aug 31, 2000·Journal of Hand Therapy : Official Journal of the American Society of Hand Therapists·C B Novak, S E Mackinnon
Nov 3, 2010·Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery·Sandra V Kotsis, Kevin C Chung
Jun 14, 2018·The Journal of Hand Surgery, European Volume·Chao LongPaige M Fox
Jan 12, 2002·Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery·Kevin C ChungHyungjin Myra Kim
Dec 13, 2005·Medical Principles and Practice : International Journal of the Kuwait University, Health Science Centre·Michael ZlowodzkiMohit Bhandari
May 8, 2004·Spine·Christopher S BaileyMarcel F Dvorak
Oct 27, 1999·The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery. American Volume·K B Freedman, J Bernstein
Aug 25, 2001·Journal of Pediatric Orthopedics·C T Melham
Oct 8, 1998·The Journal of Hand Surgery·J M Melhorn
Feb 27, 2008·Clinics in Plastic Surgery·Amy K Alderman, Kevin C Chung
Feb 2, 2010·The Journal of Hand Surgery·Kevin C Chung

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