Human Cognitive Neuroscience, Psychology, University of Edinburgh, UK.
Cortex. 2021 Feb;135:146-158. doi: 10.1016/j.cortex.2020.11.005. Epub 2020 Dec 3.
Researchers and clinicians in neuropsychology often compare individual patients against healthy control samples, to quantify evidence for cognitive-behavioural deficits and dissociations. Statistical methods for these comparisons have been developed that control Type I (false positive) errors effectively. However, remarkably little attention has been given to the power of these tests. In this practical primer, we describe, in minimally technical terms, the origins and limits of power for case-control comparisons. We argue that power calculations can play useful roles in single-case study design and interpretation, and we make suggestions for optimising power in practice. As well as providing figures, tables and tools for estimating the power of case-control comparisons, we hope to assist researchers in setting realistic expectations for what such tests can achieve in general.
神经心理学的研究人员和临床医生通常会将个体患者与健康对照组进行比较，以量化认知行为缺陷和分离的证据。已经开发出了用于这些比较的统计方法，可以有效地控制 I 型错误（假阳性）。然而，这些测试的功效却很少受到关注。在本实践指南中，我们以最小的技术术语描述了病例对照比较的功效的起源和局限性。我们认为，功效计算可以在单病例研究设计和解释中发挥有用的作用，并且我们提出了在实践中优化功效的建议。除了提供用于估计病例对照比较功效的图表、表格和工具外，我们还希望帮助研究人员对这些测试的一般效果有一个现实的期望。
