Different Types of Data Need Different Statistical Tests

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In How to Read a Paper: Statistics for the Non-Statistician. I: Different Types of Data Need Different Statistical Tests, Trisha Greenhalgh talks about the importance of statistical tests and raises a couple of questions in our minds (Greenhalgh, 1997). The first question that is raised is whether or not it is important to analyze groups for their comparability at baseline while assessing the available choices of statistical tests in a paper. Another set of important questions is that what is the best possible way to select the right kind of test and does the test we have selected reflect the actual type of data analyzed. Three other things discussed over here are has the two-tailed test been performed when an intervention’s effect is negative, have we analyzed the data in accordance with the original study protocol and do authors provide refer...