CONTRIBUTIONS TO INDIAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHAITRY: COMMON STATISTICAL AND OTHER DEFICIENCIES

The present investigation is an attempt to find the extent of statistical error and other deficiencies in the articles published in the Indian Journal of Psychiatry from April 1986 to January 1987. A sample of 26 articles was chosen by selecting every alternate article published in these four issues. It was found that 20 articles (77%) were deficient in statistical aspects. All the 26 articles were found deficient when non-statistical errors were also taken into consideration. The errors were categorized into seven broad categories. Commonly seen errors were in data analysis, methodology and citing references. Finally, some recommendations have been made for improving the quality of published articles in Psychiatric Journals.