ArticlePloS one2011
Problems with using the normal distribution--and ways to improve quality and efficiency of data analysis.
Article in PloS one, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 64 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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
64 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Systematic dose-response of environmental epidemiologic studies: Dose and response pre-analysis.Environment international · 2020Pooled it
- Marked Changes in One-Carbon Metabolism on a Low-Carbohydrate High-Fat Diet: A Randomized Controlled Trial (CARBFUNC).The Journal of nutrition · 2026Trial
- Relationship between Ketones, Ghrelin, and, Appetite on Isocaloric Diets with Varying Carbohydrate Quality and Amount: Results from a Randomized Controlled Trial in People with Obesity (CARBFUNC).The Journal of nutrition · 2023Trial
- Trial
- Segmental Outflow and Trabecular Meshwork Stiffness in an Ocular Hypertensive Mouse Model.Investigative ophthalmology & visual science · 2026Article
- Plasma short-chain fatty acids are associated with COPD and COPD phenotypes.BMC pulmonary medicine · 2026Observational
- A Very-low-energy Fast Involves Increased Adipose Inflammatory Gene Expression: A 6-day Feeding Trial (FASTOMICS-6).The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism · 2026Article
- Personalized Nutrition Recommendations Using a Bayesian Mixture Model of Concentration Constraints and Intake Preferences.Statistics in medicine · 2026Article
- Segmental outflow and trabecular meshwork stiffness in an ocular hypertensive mouse model.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Directional drift in biologically meaningful vector planes: A proposed geometric framework for early detection of subthreshold disease.PloS one · 2026Article
- Introducing an Innovative Pain Scale for Assessing Postpartum Pain in Mares: Preliminary Clinical Evaluation.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2025Article
- Ageing alters postural sway responsivity to the centre of mass movement.Journal of the Royal Society, Interface · 2025Article
- Analyzing lognormal data: A nonmathematical practical guide.Pharmacological reviews · 2025Review
- Discovery of mono-ADP ribosylating toxins with high structural homology to Pseudomonas exotoxin A.Communications biology · 2025Article
- Extreme signal amplitude events in neuromagnetic oscillations reveal brain aging processing across adulthood.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2025Article
- The Times-Divide Expression: An Intuitive Approach for Describing Right-Skewed Data in Nursing Practice.Journal of nursing management · 2025Article
- Serum concentrations of lipids, ketones and acylcarnitines during the postprandial and fasting state: the Postprandial Metabolism (PoMet) study in healthy young adults.The British journal of nutrition · 2024Article
- A method for analyzing AFM force mapping data obtained from soft tissue cryosections.Journal of biomechanics · 2024Article
- Time-resolved concentrations of serum amino acids, one-carbon metabolites and B-vitamin biomarkers during the postprandial and fasting state: the Postprandial Metabolism in Healthy Young Adults (PoMet) Study.The British journal of nutrition · 2024Article
- Association of serum occludin levels and perihematomal edema volumes in intracranial hemorrhage patients.CNS neuroscience & therapeutics · 2024Article
4 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe gaussian or normal distribution is the most established model to characterize quantitative variation of original data. Accordingly, data are summarized using the arithmetic mean and the standard deviation, by mean ± SD, or with the standard error of the mean, mean ± SEM. This, together with corresponding bars in graphical displays has become the standard to characterize variation. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL
findingsHere we question the adequacy of this characterization, and of the model. The published literature provides numerous examples for which such descriptions appear inappropriate because, based on the "95% range check", their distributions are obviously skewed. In these cases, the symmetric characterization is a poor description and may trigger wrong conclusions. To solve the problem, it is enlightening to regard causes of variation. Multiplicative causes are by far more important than additive ones, in general, and benefit from a multiplicative (or log-) normal approach. Fortunately, quite similar to the normal, the log-normal distribution can now be handled easily and characterized at the level of the original data with the help of both, a new sign, x/, times-divide, and notation. Analogous to mean ± SD, it connects the multiplicative (or geometric) mean mean * and the multiplicative standard deviation s* in the form mean * x/s*, that is advantageous and recommended. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The corresponding shift from the symmetric to the asymmetric view will substantially increase both, recognition of data distributions, and interpretation quality. It will allow for savings in sample size that can be considerable. Moreover, this is in line with ethical responsibility. Adequate models will improve concepts and theories, and provide deeper insight into science and life.
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.