The effects of data input errors on subsequent statistical inference

Abstract

Data input errors can potentially affect statistical inferences, but little research has been published to date on this topic. In the present paper, we report the effect of data input errors on the statistical inferences drawn about population parameters in an empirical study involving 280 students from two Polish universities, namely the Warsaw University of Life Sciences – SGGW and the University of Information Technology and Management in Rzeszow. We found that 28% of the students committed at least one data error. While some of these errors were small and did not have any real effect, a few of them had substantial effects on the statistical inferences drawn about the population parameters.

Keywords:

• correlation
• numerical data entry
• statistical inference
• typing errors

Acknowledgements

The questionnaire survey was conducted while the first author (Marcin Kozak) was in the Department of Experimental Design and Bioinformatics, Warsaw University of Life Sciences – SGGW. Thanks are due to Dr Dariusz Gozdowski and Ms Agnieszka Wnuk from the Department of Experimental Design and Bioinformatics, Warsaw University of Life Sciences – SGGW, for helping out in conducting the questionnaire survey. We wish to thank our anonymous reviewers for their helpful suggestions.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.