sci-statistics

Statistics & Reproducibility (sci-statistics)

When to trigger

• Results report P values but not effect sizes or n.
• "Three independent experiments" is claimed but replication is unclear.
• Multiple comparisons are run with no correction.
• A reviewer is likely to ask "were analyses pre-specified?" and there's no answer.

The reporting backbone (every quantitative claim)

Each claim needs: effect size + uncertainty + n + test + what n means.

• n stated, with the unit of replication (biological vs technical replicates; cells vs animals vs experiments).
• Effect size with 95% CI (preferred) or SD/SEM clearly labeled — not P alone.
• Exact P values (e.g., P = 0.013), not "P < 0.05", unless extremely small.
• Test named and justified (and its assumptions checked: normality, variance homogeneity, independence).
• Multiple comparisons corrected (Bonferroni/Holm/FDR) when many tests are run.

Replication and design

• Distinguish biological replication (independent samples) from technical replication (re-measurement). Science cares about the former.
• State how the sample size was chosen (power analysis or rationale), not post-hoc.
• Report randomization of subjects/treatments and blinding of measurement/analysis where applicable, or state why not.
• Report inclusion/exclusion criteria and any data excluded, with reasons, decided in advance.

Avoid the classic reviewer kills

• Pseudoreplication: treating technical replicates / cells from one animal as independent n.
• HARKing / p-hacking: presenting exploratory findings as confirmatory. If exploratory, label them.
• "Representative" images with no quantification across replicates.
• Bar chart + SEM masking a tiny, variable n.
• Comparing two effects by their significance ("significant here, not there") instead of testing the difference.

Reproducibility package

• Analysis code in a repository (see sci-data), with a README and environment/versions.
• A reproducibility / reporting summary if requested by the journal — list software, versions, seeds.
• Deterministic where possible; report random seeds for simulations/ML.

Pre-registration & transparency (where relevant)

• For confirmatory studies (especially with human subjects/behavioral work), note pre-registration (OSF/AsPredicted) if done.
• Separate pre-specified analyses from post-hoc exploration explicitly in the text.

Statistics pass for Science

Use this as a second-pass capability check. First lock the broad discovery claim, decisive evidence, uncertainty/limitations, and why the result belongs in a general-science weekly; then test whether the manuscript addresses general-science reviewers and editors who ask whether the result changes a broad field, is technically decisive, and can be understood outside the subdiscipline.

• Primary move: Check estimand, denominator, uncertainty, multiplicity, missing data, sensitivity, and reporting standard before interpreting any result.
• Decision ledger: return claim / evidence / blocker / next edit rows so the next pass can patch the manuscript directly.
• Neighbor test: compare against Nature for similar broad-scope novelty, PNAS for academy-wide breadth, specialist journals when the claim is field-internal; if the neighboring outlet has the stronger audience claim, recommend re-routing before polishing.
• Verification floor: before submission-ready advice, re-open resources/official-source-map.md for volatile rules and name the one unresolved fact that could change the recommendation.

Output format

【Per-claim backbone】 effect+CI / n / unit-of-n / test / assumptions  → list gaps
【Replication】 biological vs technical clear? yes/no
【Sample-size rationale】 power/justification present? yes/no
【Randomization & blinding】 reported / N/A-justified / missing
【Multiplicity】 corrected? method
【Reproducibility】 code + versions + seeds present? yes/no
【Next】 sci-data

Anti-patterns

• Do not report P without effect size and n.
• Do not count technical replicates as independent observations.
• Do not infer "no effect" from a non-significant test on an underpowered sample.
• Do not present post-hoc subgroup findings as if pre-specified.