Devavrat Shah, the Andrew (1956) and Erna Viterbi Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and the Institute for Data, Systems, and Society, has been named faculty director of the MIT Deshpande Center for Technologic
The important first step in the critical appraisal of a randomised trial is not an evaluation of the statistical analyses. The most important aspect to consider when reviewing a study of a new drug is the appropriateness and quality of the trial design and methods. The next most important aspect is the effect size of different treatments and its clinical significance. Rather than reporting statistical significance, studies should report the difference between treatments and its precision. Over-reliance on statistical significance and p values may lead to incorrect conclusions. Trial reports about drugs should therefore avoid the term statistical significance and quote p values with caution.