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Summary Plots With Adjusted Error Bars: The superbFramework With an Implementation in R

Authors :
Cousineau, Denis
Goulet, Marc-André
Harding, Bradley
Source :
Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science; August 2021, Vol. 4 Issue: 3
Publication Year :
2021

Abstract

Plotting the data of an experiment allows researchers to illustrate the main results of a study, show effect sizes, compare conditions, and guide interpretations. To achieve all this, it is necessary to show point estimates of the results and their precision using error bars. Often, and potentially unbeknownst to them, researchers use a type of error bars—the confidence intervals—that convey limited information. For instance, confidence intervals do not allow comparing results (a) between groups, (b) between repeated measures, (c) when participants are sampled in clusters, and (d) when the population size is finite. The use of such stand-aloneerror bars can lead to discrepancies between the plot’s display and the conclusions derived from statistical tests. To overcome this problem, we propose to generalize the precision of the results (the confidence intervals) by adjusting them so that they take into account the experimental design and the sampling methodology. Unfortunately, most software dedicated to statistical analyses do not offer options to adjust error bars. As a solution, we developed an open-access, open-source library for R—superb—that allows users to create summary plots with easily adjusted error bars.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
25152459 and 25152467
Volume :
4
Issue :
3
Database :
Supplemental Index
Journal :
Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science
Publication Type :
Periodical
Accession number :
ejs57968863
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1177/25152459211035109