A survey on the medical science articles published in Persian language 2021 in order to identify their compliance with article writing standards and the correct use of statistical analysis methods in reporting results

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Instructor, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Faculty of Medicine, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran. PhD Student of Biostatistics, Department of Statistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.

2 Professor, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Occupational Environmental Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran.

3 Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Faculty of Medicine, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran.

4 Researcher, M.Sc. of Human Ecology, Occupational Environmental Research Center, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran.

Abstract

Introduction: All the results obtained from medical research are reliable when they are examined using correct statistical tests along with checking the assumptions of the test and the accuracy of factors such as sample size, randomization, and standard measurement tools. Therefore, the present study was performed with aim to identify the extent of the articles' compliance with the essay writing standards and the correct use of statistical methods in the results reporting.
Methods: In this descriptive study, from all Persian-language journals that had a scientific-research score in 2021, 300 articles were selected with a multi-stage sampling method. Then, the study questionnaire was designed and was completed each article after assessing its validity and reliability. Data were analyzed by SPSS software (version 18) and Two-sample t-test. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results: In this study, 300 articles were examined and it was found that the type of study (94.8%), sampling method (94.8%), sample size determination formula (20.8%), validity (40.6%), reliability (72.4%), the reason for dropping samples (67.3%), how to deal with outlier data (12%), checking defaults (83.4%), confidence interval (11.9%) ) and blinding (47.4%) of the articles reported correctly. Also, the mean score of 300 articles was 86.46±11.48 out of 100.
Conclusion: In general, it seems that most of the researchers observed the most important factors regarding statistics in relation to writing the article, but the editors and referees of the journals should pay attention to the issues such as mentioning the name or the formula for determining the sample size, validity and reliability of the tool, outliers and missing data, confidence interval and blinding.

Keywords

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The Iranian Journal of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Infertility
Volume 26, Issue 6
August 2023
Pages 37-49

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