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Reanalysis: lessons great and small

Correspondence to:
David Kriebel, School of Health & Environment, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, Massachusetts 01854, USA; david_kriebel@uml.edu

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Debate and critique are fundamental to the scientific method. The closest scientists ever get to "proof" is the persistence of a hypothesis after repeated attempts to refute it. For this reason, free exchange of opinions about the interpretation of data is essential. In epidemiology, it can be useful to challenge a study’s conclusions by conducting a reanalysis of the data, with new investigators starting from different assumptions and using different methods. Consistent findings can strengthen confidence in the conclusions, as in the Health Effects Institute’s reanalysis of the Harvard Six Cities and American Cancer Society air pollution studies.^{1 2} But reanalysis can also create confusion and impede scientific progress if it is not done in the service of impartial inquiry. After initial comments on an important reanalysis of a study of beryllium and lung cancer in this issue (see page 379), I will step back to consider broader themes . . . [Full text of this article]

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