Statistical Code for Clinical Research Papers in a High-Impact Specialist Medical Journal
Authors: Melissa Assel, Andrew J. Vickers
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2018)

Letters5 June 2018Statistical Code for Clinical Research Papers in a High-Impact Specialist Medical JournalMelissa Assel, MS and Andrew J. Vickers, PhDMelissa Assel, MSMemorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York (M.A., A.J.V.) and Andrew J. Vickers, PhDMemorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York (M.A., A.J.V.)Author, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/M17-2863 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail Background: Statistical analyses should be implemented by writing good-quality code in a professional statistical package, such as R (R Project for Statistical Computing), SAS (SAS Institute), or Stata (StataCorp). Good code ensures reproducibility, reduces error, and provides auditable documentation of the analyses underpinning research results. Efforts have recently been made to encourage archiving of code corresponding to published papers (1–5) on the grounds that doing so improves transparency. These efforts have focused on such areas as neuroscience or bioinformatics, which are highly dependent on computationally intensive analyses.Objective: To examine how often authors used statistical code for clinical research papers ...References1. Eglen SJ, Marwick B, Halchenko YO, Hanke M, Sufi S, Gleeson P, et al. Toward standard practices for sharing computer code and programs in neuroscience. Nat Neurosci. 2017;20:770-3. [PMID: 28542156] doi:10.1038/nn.4550 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. O'Neill K, Brinkman RR. Publishing code is essential for reproducible flow cytometry bioinformatics. Cytometry A. 2016;89:10-1. [PMID: 26812228] doi:10.1002/cyto.a.22805 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Herbert R, Elkins M. Publishing code: an initiative to enhance transparency of data analyses reported in Journal of Physiotherapy [Editorial]. J Physiother. 2017;63:129-30. [PMID: 28652079] doi:10.1016/j.jphys.2017.05.011 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Bernard C. Editorial: code case—investigating transparency and reproducibility [Editorial]. eNeuro. 2017;4. [PMID: 28804755] doi:10.1523/ENEURO.0233-17.2017 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Code share. Papers in Nature journals should make computer code accessible where possible. 29 October 2014. Accessed at www.nature.com/news/code-share-1.16232 on 1 September 2017. Google Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York (M.A., A.J.V.)See also: Editorial comment (page 828).Acknowledgment: The authors thank Tiffany Le, BS, from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Emma Redley, BA; Cathy Pierce, BA; and James W.F. Catto, MB ChB, PhD, from the University of Sheffield.Grant Support: By a National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute Cancer Center support grant to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (grant P30-CA008748).Disclosures: Authors have disclosed no conflicts of interest. Forms can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=M17-2863.Reproducible Research Statement: Study protocol and statistical code: Not applicable. Data set: Available from Dr. Vickers (e-mail, [email protected]org).This article was published at Annals.org on 6 February 2018. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoStatistical Code to Support the Scientific Story A. Russell Localio , Steven N. Goodman , Anne Meibohm , John E. Cornell , Catharine B. Stack , Eric A. Ross , and Cynthia D. Mulrow Statistical Code for Clinical Research Papers Gregory E. Simon , Rachel Richesson , Kevin Weinfurt , Adrian F. Hernandez , and Lesley H. Curtis Statistical Code for Clinical Research Papers Ravi Varadhan Metrics Cited byTranslating electronic health record-based patient safety algorithms from research to clinical practice at multiple sitesPerspective on reducing errors in researchContinuous quality improvement in statistical code: avoiding errors and improving transparencyStatistical Code for Clinical Research PapersRavi Varadhan, PhD, PhDStatistical Code for Clinical Research PapersGregory E. Simon, MD, MPH, Rachel Richesson, PhD, MPH, Kevin Weinfurt, PhD, Adrian F. Hernandez, MD, MHS, and Lesley H. Curtis, PhDInnovations in Statistical Review at European UrologyStatistical Code to Support the Scientific StoryA. Russell Localio, PhD, Steven N. Goodman, MD, PhD, Anne Meibohm, PhD, John E. Cornell, PhD, Catharine B. Stack, PhD, Eric A. Ross, PhD, ScM, and Cynthia D. Mulrow, MD, MSc 5 June 2018Volume 168, Issue 11Page: 832-833KeywordsBiostatisticsPeer reviewPrevention, policy, and public healthQuantitative analysisRegression analysisReproducibilityResearch and reporting methodsResearch quality assessmentSurvival analysisUrology ePublished: 6 February 2018 Issue Published: 5 June 2018 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2018 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...