ReviewNursing research
Simpson's paradox and experimental research.
Review in Nursing research. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed.
- The price of fame? Mortality risk among famous singers.Journal of epidemiology and community health · 2026Article
- Bisphenol A exacerbates dry eye disease via the CASP1/GSDMD-mediated pyroptotic axis: network toxicology, mendelian randomization, and experimental validation.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Article
- A nomogram for assisting in diagnosing mouth breathing based on maxillofacial surface electromyographic activity.BMC oral health · 2025Article
- Article
- Brain age as a biomarker for pathological versus healthy ageing - a REMEMBER study.Alzheimer's research & therapy · 2024Article
- The prognostic role of diet quality in patients with MAFLD and physical activity: data from NHANES.Nutrition & diabetes · 2024Article
- Decision Curve Analysis for Personalized Treatment Choice between Multiple Options.Medical decision making : an international journal of the Society for Medical Decision Making · 2023Article
- Article
- A Review on Metabolic Paradoxes and their Impact on Metabolism.Archives of Razi Institute · 2022Review
- Article
- Lessons from Randomised Clinical Trials for Triiodothyronine Treatment of Hypothyroidism: Have They Achieved Their Objectives?Journal of thyroid research · 2018Article
- Is Spending More Time Associated With Less Missed Care?: A Comparison of Time Use and Missed Care Across 15 Nursing Units at 2 Hospitals.The Journal of nursing administration · 2016Article
- Deletions at 22q11.2 in idiopathic Parkinson's disease: a combined analysis of genome-wide association data.The Lancet. Neurology · 2016Article
- Risk factors for piperacillin/tazobactam-resistant Gram-negative infection in hematology/oncology patients with febrile neutropenia.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2015Article
- Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundExperimental research in nursing has increased considerably in recent years. To improve the quality of such research, it is critical to reduce threats to internal validity. One threat that has received inadequate attention in the nursing literature is Simpson's paradox--a case of extreme confounding that can lead to erroneous conclusions about the effects of an experimental intervention. In fact, it can lead to a conclusion about an intervention effect that is the opposite of the correct inference. APPROACH: The aims of this study were to describe Simpson's paradox, provide a hypothetical example, and discuss approaches to avoiding the paradox.
resultsThe paradox is due to the combination of an overlooked confounding variable and a disproportionate allocation of that variable among experimental groups. Different designs and analysis approaches that can be used to avoid the paradox are presented. DISCUSSION: Simpson's paradox can be avoided by selecting an appropriate experimental design and analysis that incorporates the confounding variable in such a way as to obtain unconfounded estimates of treatment effects, thus more accurately answering the research question.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.