Bolarinwa Oladimeji Akeem
Department of Epidemiology and Community Health, Faculty of Clinical Sciences, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria.
Niger Postgrad Med J. 2020 Apr-Jun;27(2):67-75. doi: 10.4103/npmj.npmj_19_20.
Sample size is one of the important considerations at the planning phase of a research proposal, but researchers are often faced with challenges of estimating valid sample size. Many researchers frequently use inadequate sample size and this invariably introduces errors into the final findings. Many reviews on sample size estimation have focused more on specific study designs which often present technical equations and formula that are boring to statistically naïve health researchers. Therefore, this compendium reviews all the common sample size estimation formula in social science and health research with the aim of providing basic guidelines and principles to achieve valid sample size estimation. The simplification of the sample size formula and detailed explanation in this review will demystify the difficulties many students as well as some researchers have with statistical formulae for sample size estimation.
样本量是研究计划规划阶段的重要考虑因素之一，但研究人员常常面临估计有效样本量的挑战。许多研究人员经常使用不充足的样本量，这必然会给最终研究结果带来误差。许多关于样本量估计的综述更多地关注特定的研究设计，这些设计往往给出一些对统计学知识匮乏的健康研究人员来说枯燥乏味的技术方程和公式。因此，本综述对社会科学和健康研究中所有常见的样本量估计公式进行了回顾，目的是提供基本的指导方针和原则，以实现有效的样本量估计。本综述中对样本量公式的简化和详细解释将消除许多学生以及一些研究人员在样本量估计统计公式方面遇到的困难。
