Abstract
Abstract Purpose To highlight some pearls and pitfalls in reporting summary statistics and in using common statistical tests. Methods Personal experience of the author as a writer, reviewer and editorial board member especially for the EVER Journal, Acta Ophthalmologica, is used to highlight some of the most common possibilities for improvement in using basic statistics. Results The items discussed, based on examples from the literature, include: 1. how to avoid giving a false impression of precision when reporting key results and how to communicate effect size; 2. how to differentiate statistical from clinical significance and how to communicate statistically nonsignificant results when writing the manuscript; 3. recognising the common problem of making multiple comparisons and adjusting for them; and 4. differentiating ordered and unordered categorical data and choosing the proper statistical test accordingly. Conclusion Clear reporting and analysis of basic statistics is not difficult as long as one is aware of a few basic rules, which will be discussed in this talk. Putting them into action may improve your manuscripts.
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