Abstract
Objective: To describe the concept of statistical power as related to comparative interventions and how various factors, including sample size, affect statistical power. Background: Having a sufficiently sized sample for a study is necessary for an investigation to demonstrate that an effective treatment is statistically superior. Many researchers fail to conduct and report a priori sample-size estimates, which then makes it difficult to interpret nonsignificant results and causes the clinician to question the planning of the research design. Description: Statistical power is the probability of statistically detecting a treatment effect when one truly exists. The a level, a measure of differences between groups, the variability of the data, and the sample size all affect statistical power. Recommendations: Authors should conduct and provide the results of a priori sample-size estimations in the literature. This will assist clinicians in determining whether the lack of a statistically significant treatment effect is due to an underpowered study or to a treatment’s actually having no effect.
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 716-719 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Journal of athletic training |
Volume | 53 |
Issue number | 7 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jul 2018 |
Keywords
- Beta
- Reporting statistical findings
- Statistics
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Medicine