The American Association of Diabetes Educators, Chicago, Illinois
Diabetes Educ. 2010 Sep-Oct;36(5):701-7. doi: 10.1177/0145721710380791. Epub 2010 Aug 24.
Diabetes educators conducting research need a basic understanding of statistical concepts so study findings are useful and can be read with confidence. Selecting an adequate sample size is a key step that needs to be considered early in the process of designing a research study. A sample size too small will not provide reliable answers to the study questions asked or research hypotheses needing to be tested. A sample size that is too big can make the study unwieldy, wasting both time and effort. An adequate sample size uses resources and time in the most cost-effective manner and is essential to producing useful research findings. The purpose of this article is to understand the importance of selecting an adequate sample size in gaining information from a small group (sample) that can be generalized to a larger group (population) along with discussing power analyses.
糖尿病教育者在进行研究时需要基本了解统计概念，以便研究结果有用且能够被自信地解读。选择适当的样本量是研究设计过程中需要早期考虑的关键步骤。样本量太小，将无法为研究问题或需要测试的研究假设提供可靠的答案。样本量太大可能会使研究变得复杂，浪费时间和精力。适当的样本量以最具成本效益的方式利用资源和时间，对于产生有用的研究结果至关重要。本文的目的是了解从小群体（样本）中获取信息并将其推广到更大群体（总体）时选择适当样本量的重要性，并讨论功效分析。
