Editorial Type:
Article Category: Research Article
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Online Publication Date: 10 Mar 2025

Multiplying Alpha: When Statistical Tests Compound in Sports Medicine Research

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DOI: 10.4085/1062-6050-0700.24
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ABSTRACT

Scientific inquiry aims to minimize bias and ensure accurate conclusions. A critical yet often overlooked issue in sports medicine and exercise science research is the family-wise error rate (FWER) and experimental-wise error rate (EWER), which increase with multiple statistical

inferences, inflating the risk of Type I errors. While FWER corrections are standard in post-hoc ANOVA tests, they are inconsistently applied in broader research contexts. Using an example from our research team of over 67 million regression models, we illustrate how failing to correct for FWER can create spurious findings. Approximately 3 million (4.4%) models were

statistically significant (p<0.05), aligning with the expected false-positive rate. This underscores the necessity of solutions such as preregistration, false discovery rate control, and Bayesian approaches. Without proper corrections, erroneous conclusions may mislead clinical decision- making and potentially harm patients, highlighting the importance of rigorous statistical methods in evidence-based sports medicine.

Contributor Notes

Corresponding author: Travis Anderson, PhD Department of Sports Medicine 1 Olympic Plaza Colorado Springs, 80901, CO USA email: travis.anderson@usopc.org
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