Common Errors in Descriptive Analysis
Table 1
Table
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Table 1
Table
Table 1
| Error | Example | Safeguard |
|---|---|---|
| Wrong denominator | Counting visits instead of participants | Define unit of observation before summarizing |
| Hidden missingness | Percentages exclude missing values silently | Report missing counts or display missing category |
| Duplicate rows after join | Lab join multiplies participant rows | Check row counts before and after joins |
| Unexpected categories | `Female`, `female`, `F` counted separately | Review categorical values before reporting |
| Unit inconsistency | Weight in kg and grams mixed | Confirm units and ranges |
| Overinterpreting small samples | Reporting 50 percent from 1 of 2 records | Show counts and provide context |
| Manual edits to outputs | Spreadsheet modified after export | Regenerate outputs from scripts |