The Journal of surgical research
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Appropriate statistical analyses are an integral part of surgical research. The purpose of this work is to assist surgeons and clinicians with the interpretation of statistics by providing a general understanding of the basic concepts that lead to choosing an appropriate statistical test for common study designs. It is extremely important to understand the nature of the data before embarking on a statistical analysis. ⋯ Multiple regression analysis is appropriate for multivariate analyses with a continuous outcome variable. Logistic regression methods would apply for binary outcomes. The quality of the analysis and subsequent results of any research project depend on an appropriate study design, data collection, and analysis to make meaningful conclusions.