Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32193567›Full record

ArticleArchives of toxicology2020

Alternatives to statistical decision trees in regulatory (eco-)toxicological bioassays.

Felix M Kluxen, Ludwig A Hothorn

Abstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in Archives of toxicology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. PeerJ · 2020
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Felix M KluxenADAMA Deutschland GmbH, Edmund-Rumpler-Strasse 6, 51149, Cologne, Germany. felix.kluxen@adama.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4516-5477
Ludwig A Hothorn, Lauenau, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The goal of (eco-) toxicological testing is to experimentally establish a dose or concentration-response and to identify a threshold with a biologically relevant and probably non-random deviation from "normal". Statistical tests aid this process. Most statistical tests have distributional assumptions that need to be satisfied for reliable performance. Therefore, most statistical analyses used in (eco-)toxicological bioassays use subsequent pre- or assumption-tests to identify the most appropriate main test, so-called statistical decision trees. There are however several deficiencies with the approach, based on study design, type of tests used and subsequent statistical testing in general. When multiple comparisons are used to identify a non-random change against negative control, we propose to use robust testing, which can be generically applied without the need of decision trees. Visualization techniques and reference ranges also offer advantages over the current pre-testing approaches. We aim to promulgate the concepts in the (eco-) toxicological community and initiate a discussion for regulatory acceptance.

Indexed as

Biological AssayDecision TreesResearch DesignRisk AssessmentToxicity TestsAssumption testsHazard characterizationHazard identificationPre-testsRegulatory toxicologyRobust statistics

Identifiers

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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Registered trials

None linked

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.