Who is in this study, anyway? Guidelines for a useful Table 1

Eleanor Hayes-Larson; Katrina L Kezios; Stephen J Mooney; Gina Lovasi

doi:10.1016/j.jclinepi.2019.06.011

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Who is in this study, anyway? Guidelines for a useful Table 1

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Who is in this study, anyway? Guidelines for a useful Table 1

Eleanor Hayes-Larson, Katrina L Kezios, Stephen J Mooney and Gina Lovasi

Journal of clinical epidemiology, v 114, pp 125-132

Oct 2019

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclinepi.2019.06.011

PMID: 31229583

Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel

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https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6773463View

Accepted (AM)Open Access (License Unspecified), Open

Abstract

Data Analysis

Documentation - methods

Documentation - standards

Epidemiologic Research Design

Guidelines as Topic

Publishing - standards

Reproducibility of Results

Research Design

Epidemiologic and clinical research papers often describe the study sample in the first table. If well-executed, this "Table 1" can illuminate potential threats to internal and external validity. However, little guidance exists on best practices for designing a Table 1, especially for complex study designs and analyses. We aimed to summarize and extend the literature related to reporting descriptive statistics. In consultation with existing guidelines, we synthesized and developed reporting recommendations driven by study design and focused on transparency related to potential threats to internal and external validity. We describe a basic structure for Table 1 and discuss simple modifications in terms of columns, rows, and cells to enhance a reader's ability to judge both internal and external validity. We further highlight several analytic complexities common in epidemiologic research (missing data, sample weights, clustered data, and interaction) and describe possible variations to Table 1 to maintain and add clarity about study validity in light of these issues. We discuss considerations and tradeoffs in Table 1 related to breadth and comprehensiveness vs. parsimony and reader-friendliness. We anticipate that our work will guide authors considering layouts for Table 1, with attention to the reader's perspective.

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60 citations in Web of Science

51 citations in Scopus

Details

Title: Who is in this study, anyway? Guidelines for a useful Table 1
Creators: Eleanor Hayes-Larson - Columbia University
Katrina L Kezios - Columbia University
Stephen J Mooney - Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center
Gina Lovasi - Drexel University
Publication Details: Journal of clinical epidemiology, v 114, pp 125-132
Publisher: Elsevier
Grant note: T32 HD057822 / NICHD NIH HHS R01 AG049970 / NIA NIH HHS K99 LM012868 / NLM NIH HHS T32 ES023772 / NIEHS NIH HHS T32 MH013043 / NIMH NIH HHS T32 AI114398 / NIAID NIH HHS
Resource Type: Journal article
Language: English
Academic Unit: Urban Health Collaborative
Web of Science ID: WOS:000488197900015
Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85069506787
Other Identifier: 991019169401804721

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Collaboration types: Domestic collaboration
Web of Science research areas: Health Care Sciences & Services; Public, Environmental & Occupational Health