When means and standard deviations are an incomplete summary of a continuous variable: problems, solutions, and utilising the reference ranges to check normality

Abstract

The mean and standard deviation are commonly used to summarise continuous data, often without regard for the distribution of the data. For data in a non-normal distribution, the median and interquartile interval are often more appropriate. This article outlines circumstances where the mean and standard deviation alone are insufficient summary variables, and provides a simple appraisal method for reviewers without the raw data.