Journal of AdvancedMedical and Dental Sciences Research

Background: The knowledge of statistical analysis is essential before planning any research study .Clinical studies often compare the efficacy of a new treatment in a study group with the efficacy of conventional treatment, or with a control group. Aside from a pure description, we would like to know whether the observed differences between the treatment groups are just random or are really present. This article informs the reader about frequently used statistical tests and their application in dentistry. Methods: The most commonly used statistical tests are identified through a selective literature search on the methodology of dental research publications. This article provides a brief overview of the type of statistical tests to analyze research data with its examples. Results and conclusions: This article describes the criteria for choosing the proper statistical test. Simple flowchart and tables are provided to facilitate the selection of the appropriate test. The present article discusses frequently used statistical tests for different scales of measurement and types of samples which enables the clinician to apply the correct statistical test in scientific publications and thus correctly interpret findings.
Key words: Statistical test, data, variable, correlation, association.