An article published in BMC Medicine this week provides insights into how peer reviewers should evaluate statistics in publications.

The article aims to cover the following questions:

• Is there sufficient detail to review the statistical methods?
• Are there any common statistical issues?
• Is the presentation of results appropriate?
• Is the interpretation of results appropriate?

The authors conclude: “We have provided a number of indicators to assist the non-statistical reviewer… If reviewers lack the appropriate background to positively confirm the appropriateness of any of the manuscript’s statistical aspects, they are encouraged to recommend it for expert statistical review.”.