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Wiley InterScience | ||||||||||||
  Internal Medicine JournalVolume 38 Issue 4, Pages 288 - 291 Published Online: 31 Mar 2008 Journal compilation © 2009 Royal Australasian College of Physicians The Official Journal of the Adult Medicine Division of The Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP)
Abstract | References | Full Text: HTML, PDF (Size: 86K) | Related Articles | Citation Tracking  Statistical inference is overemphasized in cluster investigations: the case of the cluster of breast cancers at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation studios in Brisbane, Australia Funding: None Potential conflicts of interest: None Copyright Journal compilation © 2008 Royal Australasian College of Physicians KEYWORDS clusters • case series • statistical inference ABSTRACT
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. Received 24 September 2007; accepted 4 November 2007. | 
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