Department of Biostatistics Seminar/Workshop Series

Improving Your Chances of Success at NEJM: Some Guidelines for Reporting on Design and Analysis

David Harrington, PhD

Professor of Biostatistics, Department of Biostatistics, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard University, School of Public Health

Wednesday, October 5, 1:30-2:30pm, MRBIII Conference Room 1220

At the same time that top tier medical journals are becoming more competitive, the statistical methods used in the design and analysis of medical research studies are becoming more complex. Lack of clarity, the use of inappropriate models, or errors in an analysis can delay the best of papers, and may even lead to rejection. This talk will review the statistical refereeing process at the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), present data on the reasons for rejection, and outline some recommendations for improving the treatment of statistics in the methods and results section in submitted manuscripts.