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Statistical inference is overemphasized in cluster investigations: the case of the cluster of breast cancers at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation studios in Brisbane, Australia
Author(s) -
Coory M.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
internal medicine journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.596
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1445-5994
pISSN - 1444-0903
DOI - 10.1111/j.1445-5994.2007.01617.x
Subject(s) - medicine , statistical inference , cluster (spacecraft) , certainty , corporation , inference , statistical analysis , statistical model , broadcasting (networking) , studio , actuarial science , statistics , econometrics , telecommunications , computer science , artificial intelligence , computer security , law , epistemology , mathematics , political science , business , philosophy , economics , programming language
The aim of statistical analyses in cluster investigations is to estimate the probability that the aggregation of cases could be due to chance. As a result of several statistical problems – including the post‐hoc nature of the analysis and the subjective nature of implied multiple comparisons – this cannot be carried out with any certainty. In cluster investigations, expert opinion should carry much more weight than P ‐values, which are exceedingly difficult to interpret.