ArticleBMJ medicine2023
Defining representativeness of study samples in medical and population health research.
Article in BMJ medicine, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 63 papers, 2 of them syntheses 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
63 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Safety and efficacy of long-acting cabotegravir/rilpivirine versus standard oral antiretroviral therapy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.The Journal of antimicrobial chemotherapy · 2025Pooled it
- The prevalence of workaholism: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Pooled it
- Associations Between Gambling Motives and More Severe Gambling Disorder - Does Gender Matter?Journal of gambling studies · 2026Article
- The Ubiquitous Survey Instrument: JGME Expectations for Medical Education Submissions.Journal of graduate medical education · 2026Article
- The Design and Conduct of Cohort Studies of Peoples With CKD - International Perspectives From iNET-CKD.Kidney international reports · 2026Article
- Article
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- Gender-related facilitators and barriers to participation in research on aging using fuzzy cognitive mapping.Neurobiology of aging · 2026Article
- Reach and representativeness within a rural randomized controlled trial designed to improve community health through civic engagement for built environment change in Texas and New York.Wellbeing, space and society · 2026Article
- Impact of Sample Size and Its Estimation in Medical Research.AJPM focus · 2026Article
- Understanding the unmet needs of patients with brain metastases referred for stereotactic radiotherapy and their caregivers: A prospective cohort study.Neuro-oncology practice · 2026Article
- Is artificial intelligence a friend or foe to epidemiology?Annals of epidemiology · 2026Review
- Checking methodology and statistics when reading an observational study.Intensive care medicine · 2026Article
- Sampling Methods and Sample Size Determination in Clinical Research: An Educational Review.Journal of general and family medicine · 2026Review
- Resources and applications of public biomedical data.Frontiers in bioinformatics · 2026Review
- Moving From Representativeness Toward Transportability in an Era of Digital and Big Data.International journal of public health · 2026Review
- Correlates of Anti-Toxoplasma IgG Antibodies in Females with Borderline Personality Disorder: A Pilot Cross-Sectional Study.Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment · 2026Article
- Exploring the need for a social prescribing pathway in an Australian paediatric allied healthcare intake service: a pilot feasibility and acceptability study.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Differences in symptoms and clinical outcomes of COVID-19 infection across vaccination status and age groups during the national pandemic from December 2022 to February 2023 in China: a cross-sectional study.BMC infectious diseases · 2025Article
- Safe system approach to preventing cyclist fatalities: safety by design for urban and rural environments.Injury epidemiology · 2025Article
3 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
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Medical and population health science researchers frequently make ambiguous statements about whether they believe their study sample or results are representative of some (implicit or explicit) target population. This article provides a comprehensive definition of representativeness, with the goal of capturing the different ways in which a study can be representative of a target population. It is proposed that a study is representative if the estimate obtained in the study sample is generalisable to the target population (owing to representative sampling, estimation of stratum specific effects, or quantitative methods to generalise or transport estimates) or the interpretation of the results is generalisable to the target population (based on fundamental scientific premises and substantive background knowledge). This definition is explored in the context of four covid-19 studies, ranging from laboratory science to descriptive epidemiology. All statements regarding representativeness should make clear the way in which the study results generalise, the target population the results are being generalised to, and the assumptions that must hold for that generalisation to be scientifically or statistically justifiable.
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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.