Table 2.

Statistical methods used in the sampled papers

Statistical methods	No. times used
Descriptive statistics (mean, median, SD, percentile, range and coefficient of variation)	384
Correlation analysis (Pearson correlation, Spearman rank correlation, Kendall’s partial rank correlation)	41
t-test (one-sample, two-sample, paired)	129
Confidence interval	20
ANOVA (one-way, two-way, three-way, multiple comparison procedures)	124
Regression analysis (simple linear, multiple, logistic regression)	33
Categorical data analysis (Fisher exact test, rxc contingency table, measures of association; Cochran–Mantel–Haenszel test, McNemar test, Kappa statistic, ICC)	51
Nonparametric statistics (Mann–Whitney U-test, Wilcoxon signed rank test, Kruskal–Wallis test, Friedman test)	112
Survival analysis	55
Others (rates and proportions, ANCOVA, longitudinal analysis)	9
Total	958