Both readers and writers of medical education research should take note of Sullivan’s editorial in this month’s Journal of Graduate Medical Education wherein she outlines common “spin” techniques used in reporting education research results and how to avoid them. We’re all aware of fishing expeditions where investigators look at every possible association, and the all too common practice of attributing lack of difference between study groups to small sample size, but some may not have considered reporting Likert scale means to the 100th decimal point as being similarly problematic. Many of the solutions she proposes are simple, straight forward, and generally involve careful planning with judicious use of a key ingredient often forgotten- common sense. — Sarang Kim, MD
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DR MERL 