A skeletal response to a twitter question: “ANOVA (time point x group) or ANCOVA (group with time point as a covariate) for intervention designs? Discuss.” follow-up “Only 2 time points in this case (pre- and post-intervention), and would wanna basically answer the question of whether out of the 3 intervention groups, some improve on measure X more than others after the intervention” Here I compare five methods using fake pre-post data, including

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Setup Import Models as nested using “tank” nested within “room” as two random intercepts (using lme4 to create the combinations) A safer (lme4) way to create the combinations of “room” and “tank”: as two random intercepts using “tank2” Don’t do this This is a skeletal post to show the equivalency of different ways of thinking about “nested” factors in a mixed model. The data are measures of life history traits in lice that infect salmon.

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This is an update of Paired t-test as a special case of linear model and hierarchical model Figure 2A of the paper Meta-omics analysis of elite athletes identifies a performance-enhancing microbe that functions via lactate metabolism uses a paired t-test to compare endurance performance in mice treated with a control microbe (Lactobacillus bulgaricus) and a test microbe (Veillonella atypica) in a cross-over design (so each mouse was treated with both bacteria).

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Update – Fig. 2A is an analysis of the maximum endurance over three trials. This has consequences. Figure 2A of the paper Meta-omics analysis of elite athletes identifies a performance-enhancing microbe that functions via lactate metabolism uses a paired t-test to compare endurance performance in mice treated with a control microbe (Lactobacillus bulgaricus) and a test microbe (Veillonella atypica) in a cross-over design (so each mouse was treated with both bacteria).

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Update - This post has been updated A very skeletal analysis of Sharon, G., Cruz, N.J., Kang, D.W., Gandal, M.J., Wang, B., Kim, Y.M., Zink, E.M., Casey, C.P., Taylor, B.C., Lane, C.J. and Bramer, L.M., 2019. Human Gut Microbiota from Autism Spectrum Disorder Promote Behavioral Symptoms in Mice. Cell, 177(6), pp.1600-1618. which got some attention on pubpeer. Commenters are questioning the result of Fig1G. It is very hard to infer a p-value from plots like these, where the data are multi-level, regardless of if means and some kind of error bar is presented.

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R doodles. Some ecology. Some physiology. Much fake data.

Thoughts on R, statistical best practices, and teaching applied statistics to Biology majors.

Jeff Walker, Professor of Biological Sciences

University of Southern Maine, Portland, Maine, United States