Reviewer’s report
Title: Prevalence of intimate partner violence against Women and associated factors in Ethiopia
Version: 1 Date: 10 Jul 2019
Reviewer: Reviewer 2
Reviewer's report:
PEER REVIEWER ASSESSMENTS: 
OBJECTIVE - Full research articles: is  there a clear objective that addresses a testable research
question(s) (brief or other article types: is there a clear objective)?
Yes - there is a clear objective
DESIGN - Is the current approach (including controls and analysis protocols) appropriate for the
objective?
Yes - the approach is appropriate
EXECUTION - Are the experiments and analyses performed with technical rigor to allow confidence
in the results?
Yes - experiments and analyses were performed appropriately
STATISTICS - Is the use of statistics in the manuscript appropriate?
No - there are issues with the statistics in the study
INTERPRETATION  -  Is  the  current  interpretation/discussion  of  the  results  reasonable  and  not
overstated?
No - there are minor issues
OVERALL MANUSCRIPT POTENTIAL - Is the current version of this work technically sound? If
not, can revisions be made to make the work technically sound?
Probably - with minor revisions
PEER REVIEWER COMMENTS: 
GENERAL COMMENTS: This is a well-written paper on an important topic. The authors use rather
basic analytical techniques, but the argument is clear throughout and the sample is robust.
REQUESTED REVISIONS: 
- the regional prevalence rates do not need to be included in the Abstract
- what extant literature exists about IPV in Ethiopia? This should be added to the Introduction
- One concern I have in Methods is how precisely the violence questions were asked - were they single
items on physical, sexual, emotional? Were they yes/no responses? Were they behaviorally specific or
did they say something like "were you ever a victim of physical abuse?"? Just remind the reader who
may not be familiar with the DHS
- Table 2 is hard to read because of the many rows. I would rather dichotomize all outcomes and
present the relevant p value.
- Can present confidence intervals with only two decimal places
- What does this paper offer the IPV field that is novel? How does this research add to what is known
about the factors associated with IPV? 
- What is "avoiding dragging"?
- I would omit the prevalence of the studies from other countries. As these are distinct populations,
there is no reason to assume that Ethiopian prevalence would be similar or distinct from these other
settings.
- Include a Limitations section that considers how the data were obtained, analysed, interpreted. For
example, any reason to think that respondants may be uneasy to disclose violence if, for example, the
DHS data collectors were not well trained to respond to it? Typically DHS data presents lower rates of
violence than other types of studies, because the teams are not as well-trained about gender and power.
Are the methods appropriate and well described?
If not, please specify what is required in your comments to the authors.
Yes
Does the work include the necessary controls?
If not, please specify which controls are required in your comments to the authors.
Yes
Are the conclusions drawn adequately supported by the data shown?
If not, please explain in your comments to the authors.
No
Are you able to assess any statistics in the manuscript or would you recommend an
additional statistical review?
If an additional statistical review is recommended, please specify what aspects require further
assessment in your comments to the editors.
I am able to assess the statistics
Quality of written English
Please indicate the quality of language in the manuscript:
Needs some language corrections before being published
Declaration of competing interests
Please complete a declaration of competing interests, considering the following questions:
1. Have you in the past five years received reimbursements, fees, funding, or salary from an
organisation that may in any way gain or lose financially from the publication of this
manuscript, either now or in the future?
2. Do you hold any stocks or shares in an organisation that may in any way gain or lose
financially from the publication of this manuscript, either now or in the future?
3. Do you hold or are you currently applying for any patents relating to the content of the
manuscript?
4. Have you received reimbursements, fees, funding, or salary from an organization that holds
or has applied for patents relating to the content of the manuscript?
5. Do you have any other financial competing interests?
6. Do you have any non-financial competing interests in relation to this paper?
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If your reply is yes to any, please give details below.
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Research Square and was  paid a small honorarium for completing the review  within a specified
timeframe. Honoraria for reviews such as this are paid regardless of the reviewer recommendation.
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