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Posts by Karen Lamb

Challenges in the Computational Reproducibility of Linear Regression Analyses: An Empirical Study Background: Reproducibility concerns in health research have grown, as many published results fail to be independently reproduced. Achieving computational reproducibility, where others can replicate the same results using the same methods, requires transparent reporting of statistical tests, models, and software use. While data-sharing initiatives have improved accessibility, the actual usability of shared data for reproducing research findings remains underexplored. Addressing this gap is crucial for advancing open science and ensuring that shared data meaningfully support reproducibility and enable collaboration, thereby strengthening evidence-based policy and practice. Methods: A random sample of 95 PLOS ONE health research papers from 2019 reporting linear regression was assessed for data-sharing practices and computational reproducibility. Data were accessible for 43 papers. From the randomly selected sample, the first 20 papers with available data were assessed for computational reproducibility. Three regression models per paper were reanalysed. Results: Of the 95 papers, 68 reported having data available, but 25 of these lacked the data required to reproduce the linear regression models. Only eight of 20 papers we analysed were computationally reproducible. A major barrier to reproducing the analyses was the great difficulty in matching the variables described in the paper to those in the data. Papers sometimes failed to be reproduced because the methods were not adequately described, including variable adjustments and data exclusions. Conclusion: More than half (60%) of analysed studies were not computationally reproducible, raising concerns about the credibility of the reported results and highlighting the need for greater transparency and rigour in research reporting. When data are made available, authors should provide a corresponding data dictionary with variable labels that match those used in the paper. Analysis code, model specifications, and any supporting materials detailing the steps required to reproduce the results should be deposited in a publicly accessible repository or included as supplementary files. To increase the reproducibility of statistical results, we propose a Model Location and Specification Table (MLast), which tracks where and what analyses were performed. In conjunction with a data dictionary, MLast enables the mapping of analyses, greatly aiding computational reproducibility. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. ### Funding Statement There was no cost associated with this research except for attending conferences. These costs were covered by the primary authors PhD allocation from the health faculty, Queensland University of Technology, and scholarships. The Statistical Society of Australia (SSA) and the Association for Interdisciplinary Meta-research & Open Science (AIMOS) supported the primary author with travel grants to attend their respective conferences. These scholarships did not influence the results of the study. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. ### Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below: The aim of this study was to reproduce the statistical results from publications that made their data publicly available. Authors of papers published in PLOS ONE were considered to have implicitly consented through their agreement with the journals data sharing policy, which supports the validation and reproduction of results from shared data. This study received Negligible-Low Risk Ethics approval from the Queensland University of Technology Human Research Ethics Committee (Approval Number: 2000000458). I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable. Yes The data and a reproducible R Quarto file used to produce this paper, including tables, figures, and code, have been stored in a GitHub repository and can be cited using Zenodo dio. <https://github.com/Lee-V-Jones/Reproducibility> <https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19448969>

New preprint by my excellent student Lee Jones on trying to computationally reproduce papers that used linear regression and made their data available. This has been a huge effort by Lee and she has written useful recommendations for practice. www.medrxiv.org/content/10.6...

1 week ago 30 13 2 3
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πŸ“ˆ 𝐊𝐞𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞 π’π©πžπšπ€πžπ«! πŸ“ˆ Join us at #StatLeadership2026 to hear from Dr Emi Tanaka, an academic statistician at The Australian National University with a passion for data science and open-source software, who will share strategies for managing teams in statistical research.

➑️ Register: bit.ly/esslcr

1 week ago 6 2 0 0
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Great to catch up with old and new pals at #STEMMinistbookclub tonight in Melbourne. Excellent chat and great food! Reach out if you want to join us for the next one. @lindamciver.adsei.org @jesskasza.bsky.social

2 weeks ago 6 1 1 0

Call for abstracts still open for our statistical leadership event. Come join us! ⬇️⬇️⬇️

3 weeks ago 0 0 0 0
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πŸ“’ Travel bursaries available for statisticians interested in attending our statistical leadership event in Australia in July. Applications welcome for either the Brisbane or Melbourne location.

More details here:
agbarnett.github.io/stats_leader...

Applications close 1st May!

3 weeks ago 2 1 0 0

Early to mid career πŸ‘

1 month ago 1 0 0 0
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We've opened registration and the abstract call for our leadership event for statisticians in Australia this July!

Join us for this exciting new event! More info here: agbarnett.github.io/stats_leader...

@aidybarnett.bsky.social @nicolewhite.bsky.social @mischhub.bsky.social @aushsi.bsky.social

1 month ago 5 7 1 1
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The genius at Guinness and his statistical legacy A statistical method widely used today by scientists and others is all thanks to a statistician at a Guinness brewery whose work was published anonymously more than a century ago.

Happy St Patrick's Day! Spare a thought for statisticians when enjoying your Guinness today...

@aceofdaves.bsky.social

1 month ago 3 0 0 0

πŸ“’ Calling out to statisticians: put 9-10th July 2026 in your diary!

@nicolewhite.bsky.social and I are excited to launch this symposium for statisticians along with our phenomenal team of co-organisers @mischhub.bsky.social @aushsi.bsky.social

Sign up for more information at the link below πŸ‘‡πŸ‘‡πŸ‘‡πŸ‘‡πŸ‘‡

1 month ago 1 0 0 0
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Another cracking #STEMMinist book club catch up tonight in Melbourne! Reach out if you're interested in joining our next meet up in a couple of months. @lindamciver.adsei.org @jesskasza.bsky.social

2 months ago 2 1 1 0

"An online sample size calculator for designing partially clustered trials" (@klange-au.bsky.social et al) has now been published in Clinical Trials!
doi.org/10.1177/1740...

This free and user-friendly online calculator makes it easier to ensure a trial is appropriately powered βœ…

2 months ago 5 3 0 1
Statistical Society of Australia - Mentoring

The 2026 SSA #Mentoring Program launched today with training from the excellent @drshanerrr.bsky.social. So happy to see both new and familiar faces in the stats community joining the program! Well done to @nicolewhite.bsky.social, Lizzie Koreevar and the committee! statsoc.org.au/Mentoring

2 months ago 4 2 0 0
Stepped Wedge Conference 2026 - Health Sciences, University of York

If you're interested in any aspect of stepped wedge trials, you are in luck! The University of York is hosting a FREE online conference dedicated to this weird and wonderful design. Find more info and submit your abstract here: www.york.ac.uk/healthscienc...

2 months ago 1 1 0 0
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Honoured to have received the Faculty Award for Excellence in Mentoring last night. Huge thank you to Sabine Braat for the nomination and to my @mischhub.bsky.social colleagues and others for your support. Enormously appreciated!

4 months ago 2 0 0 0

Thanks for sharing @cameronpat.bsky.social. There is so much value in being a passionate person in statistics that inspires good statistical work in others. Good communication should not be undervalued! Take care of yourself. ❀️

4 months ago 6 2 0 0
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Beautiful evening for our last STEMMinist book club of the year! Great to meet some new people. Excellent chat!

Thanks to @lindamciver.adsei.org for the pics and helping revive the Melbourne branch of the book club this year with me and Catherine Milte.

4 months ago 2 1 0 0
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MISCH researchers have been awarded $15,000 for their project β€œCompliance in physiotherapy trials: rethinking design, implementation, and analysis using the estimand frameworkπŸ₯‚
πŸ”—https://shorturl.at/6kgl5

6 months ago 5 1 0 0
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Congratulations to Nadine Phillips, who was recognised with a Joint Best Poster Award at the recent Australian Trials Methodology Conference. πŸ‘ πŸŽ‰ shorturl.at/7F5It

4 months ago 2 1 0 0
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Congratulations to A/Prof @kelamb.bsky.social : Recipient of the 2025 Patricia Grimshaw Award for Mentor Excellence πŸŽ‰πŸ₯‚
A huge congratulations on this well-deserved recognition. Her dedication to mentoring enriches our community and inspires us all.

πŸ”—https://shorturl.at/eaZKD

5 months ago 2 1 0 0
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Fantastic end to #RSS2025 with the conference dinner and ceilidh in the national museum in Edinburgh. Great to catch up with old pals! Thanks @royalstatsoc.bsky.social team. I had a ball! #statistics #conference

7 months ago 2 0 1 0
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Thoroughly enjoyed Maria Christodoulou's presentation on how to engage non-statisticians in statistics at #RSS2025. I want more classes involving zombies! #statistics #teaching

7 months ago 2 0 0 0
The Vice-Chancellor’s Awards for Programs that Enhance Learning

The Vice-Chancellor’s Awards for Programs that Enhance Learning

Honored to be Highly Commended for The Vice-Chancellor’s Awards for Programs that Enhance Learning under the leadership of Alice Richardson as part of Statistical People of Knowledge and Experience (SPOKEs) πŸŽ–οΈ

learningandteaching.anu.edu.au/development/...

7 months ago 9 1 0 0
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πŸ† Distinguished Professor Ian Paulsen @arccoesb.bsky.social is awarded the Eureka Prize for Leadership in Science. #EurekaPrizes

Learn more: youtu.be/NeQn8TR9GYk

7 months ago 4 2 0 2
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πŸ† Dr @drvanessapirotta.bsky.social is awarded the Celestino Eureka Prize for Promoting Understanding of Science. #EurekaPrizes

Learn more: youtu.be/vw0iFeij1tY

7 months ago 6 2 0 2
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πŸ† dartR from #UniCBR is awarded the @ardc.edu.au‬ Eureka Prize for Excellence in Research Software. #EurekaPrizes

Learn more: youtu.be/eM_9H79bPec

7 months ago 11 6 0 2
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Sharing our thoughts on how to support the development of communication skills in early career statisticians at #RSS2025 in Edinburgh yesterday. Absolute pleasure to connect with statisticians at this conference. @mischhub.bsky.social #statistics #communication #mentoring

7 months ago 1 0 0 0
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πŸ† @livingseawalls.bsky.social is awarded the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water Eureka Prize for Environmental Research: youtu.be/l76BDpJ7HU4

#EurekaPrizes @sims-australia.bsky.social @melaniejbishop.bsky.social @cariocamayer.bsky.social @marialvozzo.bsky.social

7 months ago 13 4 0 1
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πŸ† The Fission Chips Team from Macquarie University is awarded the @ansto.bsky.social‬ Eureka Prize for Innovative Use of Technology. #EurekaPrizes

Learn more: youtu.be/6yf27LdQkhw

7 months ago 3 2 0 0
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πŸ† Dr Aaron Eger from @unsw.edu.au is awarded the Eureka Prize for Emerging Leader in Science. #EurekaPrizes

Learn more: youtu.be/M06od5P7s1s

7 months ago 2 2 0 0