Table 2. Results of use of SEM by type of study in three cardiovascular journals (Cardiovascular Research, Circulation: Heart Failure, Circulation Research) edited in the year 2012.
| Type of study | Basic science study only, N (%) | Clinical study only, N (%) | Both basic science and clinical study, N (%) | Total, N (%) |
| Total number of original articles assessed * | 353 | 68 | 20 | 441 |
| Methods section includes an explicit statement on using SEM for description of the data | 213 (60.3) | 3 (4.4) | 12 (60.0) | 228 (51.7) |
| Methods section includes an explicit statement on using SD for description of the data | 66 (18.7) | 30 (44.1) | 3 (15.0) | 99 (22.5) |
| Unclear throughout the whole article what is used when data is described | 23 (6.5) | 3 (4.4) | 1 (5.0) | 27 (6.1) |
| Use of SEM found in the article | ||||
| Inappropriate use of SEM1 | 260 (73.7) [68.7–78.2] | 7 (10.3) [4.2–20.1] | 15 (75.0) [50.9–91.3] | 282 (64.0) [59.3–68.4] |
| SEM used for descriptive purposes only1 | 7 (2.0) [1.0–4.1] | 1 (1.5) [0.2–9.8] | 1 (5.0) [0.7–28.4] | 9 (2.0) [1.1–3.9] |
| SEM used instead of 95% CI only1 | 17 (4.8) [3.0–7.6] | 3 (4.4) [1.4–12.9] | 2 (10.0) [2.5–32.5] | 22 (5.0) [3.3–7.5] |
| Combined use for descriptive purposes and instead of 95% CI1 | 236 (66.9) [61.8–71.6] | 3 (4.4) [1.4–12.9] | 12 (60.0) [37.9–78.6] | 251 (56.9) [52.2–61.5] |
*9 studies not assessed (no quantitative results, simulation studies, case reports, narrative reviews).
1
(%) [95% CI (%)].