Tom Lang

Contributions

Harold Swanberg, MD: Why and how EMWA should remember him - Volume 32, Issue 4

Before the European Medical Writers Association (EMWA) and the American Medical Writers Association (AMWA), there was the Mississippi Valley Medical Editors Association (MVMEA). Most medical writers are unaware of the history of MVMEA and of how it…

Odd cases and risky cohorts: Measures of risk and association in observational studies - Volume 26, Issue 3

Hundreds of statistical tests, procedures, and descriptive measures are used in clinical research. Risks, odds, and hazards are among the most common but not always the most understood. They are often used in all three types of observational studies…

How to shorten a text by up to 30% and improve clarity without losing information - Volume 26, Issue 1

What if everything you read was up to 30% shorter and more easily understood? What if everything you wrote was up to 30% shorter and more easily understood? Would that be a skill worth developing? Would  your employer or clients notice if your work…

Statistical analyses and methods in the published literature: The SAMPL guidelines - Volume 25, Issue 3

Despite calls for guidelines on reporting statistical aspects of studies, most journals have still not included in their instructions for authors more than a paragraph or two about reporting statistical methods and results. However, given that many…

Never P alone: The value of estimates and confidence intervals - Volume 25, Issue 3

How results are reported influences how they are interpreted. Although P values have been granted great importance, they have no clinical interpretation. Rather, they are a measure of chance as an explanation for the results. Their either or…

The illusion of certainty and the certainty of illusion - Volume 25, Issue 3

Critical thinking is necessary to edit a scientific article. However, in addition to questions about the language, we can also question the assumptions, documentation, and implications of the research, in a process I call “analytical editing.” A…