• Yitao Mao, Juxiong Xiao, Liping Zhu, Yu Zhang, Yueshuang Leng, Qingling Li, Ying Li, Chuyi Liu, and Luqing Zhao.
• Department of Radiology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410008, China.
• Postgrad Med J. 2024 Oct 23.

BackgroundMany medical postgraduate students exhibit a lack of clarity in their understanding of relevant statistical concepts during the conduct of diagnostic studies.MethodsThis article, grounded in research practice, delves into the role of understanding statistical concepts in diagnostic research. It includes an exploration of sensitivity, specificity, types of statistical errors, and their interrelationships, as well as a discussion on statistical power-an often-overlooked but crucial concept in research.ResultsThe article elucidates these important concepts with specific examples and illustrations, and addresses an issue of inconsistency related to the receiver operating characteristic curve in research practice.ConclusionBy drawing analogies between basic concepts in diagnostic tests and concepts in statistics, this article helps to enhance researchers' abilities in designing and interpreting clinical diagnostic studies, thereby improving the quality of clinical diagnostic research.© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Fellowship of Postgraduate Medicine. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

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