Examination of published articles with respect to statistical errors in veterinary sciences

Abstract

The aim of this present work was to examine statistical errors in published veterinary science articles. A total of 204 published articles (SCI or SCI-Exp) were used in this study. The articles were chosen from among those indexed in PubMed database between the years 2010 and 2014, inclusive. A total of 199 articles had at least one statistical error. The most frequently encountered statistical error among the articles published in journals indexed in SCI and in SCI-E was "errors in summarizing data". No statistical error was found in 2.45% (n=5) of 204 (SCI: 0.98% (1/102), SCI-E: 3.92% (4/102)) articles. To reduce and prevent statistical errors in publications, the researchers must have a basic knowledge of statistics and during the study process they must consult field experts. While reviewing, the reviewers have to redirect the publications to statistical editors when needed and most importantly during the process of editing, the editors have to direct the publications to a statistics reviewer.