Continuity correction of Pearson’s chi-square test in 2x2 Contingency Tables: A mini-review on recent development

Authors

  • Nicola Serra University Federico II of Naples
  • Teresa Rea
  • Paola Di Carlo University of Palermo
  • Consolato Sergi University of Alberta, Canada

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.2427/13059

Keywords:

Pearson’s x2 statistic, continuity correction, 2x2 contingency table, Yates’s continuity correction, Serra’s continuity correction

Abstract

The Pearson’s chi-square test represents a nonparametric test more used in Biomedicine and Social Sciences, but it introduces an error for 2x2 contingency tables, when a discrete probability distribution is approximated with a continuous distribution. The first author to introduce the continuity correction of Pearson’s chi-square test has been Yates F. (1934). Unfortunately, Yates’s correction may tend to overcorrect of p-value, this can implicate an overly conservative result. Therefore many authors have introduced variants Pearson’s chi-square statistic, as alternative continuity correction to Yates’s correction. The goal of this paper is to describe the most recent continuity corrections, proposed for Pearson’s chi-square test.

Author Biographies

Nicola Serra, University Federico II of Naples

Department of Public Health, University Federico II of Naples, Italy

Teresa Rea

Department of Public Health, University Federico II of Naples, Italy

Paola Di Carlo, University of Palermo

Department of Sciences for Health Promotion, Mother & Child Care, Univ. of Palermo, Italy

Consolato Sergi, University of Alberta, Canada

Department of Lab. Medicine and Pathology, Univ. of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada, Stollery Children’s Hospital, Univ. of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada

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Published

2022-02-07

Issue

Section

Systematic reviews and meta- and pooled analyses