Debraj writes: >Some data values in a particular experiment performed exhibits >unexpected results. Looking into it, I found some explanations for the >same. Can I add in some compensatory values/function to eliminate the >bias caused in the data instead of redoing the experiment again (with >corrections) ? What you have here is a deviation from the protocol. You planned to analyze the data one way, but you changed your mind after you looked at the data. There's a cute quote by Stephen Senn in Statistical Issues in Drug Development (1997): Medical statistician: one who will not accept that Columbus discovered America ... because he said he was looking for India in the trial plan. So you don't want to be too obsessive about protocol deviations. On the other hand, look at all the controversy in the recent Florida vote recount because there was not a standard that everyone agreed on prior to the election. What you need to do is to assure yourself (and anyone who might be reading your research) that this is a reasonable deviation from the protocol. Can you convince a skeptical reviewer that the change you plan to make would have been a reasonable course of action if you had anticipated that situation during protocol development. Also, if you can argue that your changes are based on objective criteria rather than subjective judgement, all the better. I hope this advice helps. Good luck with your research. Steve Simon, [EMAIL PROTECTED], Standard Disclaimer. STATS: STeve's Attempt to Teach Statistics. http://www.cmh.edu/stats ================================================================= Instructions for joining and leaving this list and remarks about the problem of INAPPROPRIATE MESSAGES are available at http://jse.stat.ncsu.edu/ =================================================================
