Section 2.6 Reporting Results
We have seen several ways to describe the difference in pregnancy length (if there is one) between first babies and others. How should we report these results?
The answer depends on who is asking the question. A scientist might be interested in any (real) effect, no matter how small. A doctor might only care about effects that are practically significant — that is, differences that matter in practice. A pregnant woman might be interested in results that are relevant to her, like the probability of delivering early or late.
How you report results also depends on your goals. If you are trying to demonstrate the importance of an effect, you might choose summary statistics that emphasize differences. If you are trying to reassure a patient, you might choose statistics that put the differences in context.
Of course your decisions should also be guided by professional ethics. It’s OK to be persuasive — you should design statistical reports and visualizations that tell a story clearly. But you should also do your best to make your reports honest, and to acknowledge uncertainty and limitations.
