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Standards for reporting norms in the scientific literature and the development of free-access tools to apply them in practice

Blagus, R.; Leskosek, B.; Ortega, F. B.; Tomkinson, G. R.; Jurak, G.

2024-11-15 health informatics
10.1101/2024.11.12.24317147 medRxiv
Show abstract

Norm-referenced tests compare individuals to a group. While norms are often presented in tables and graphs, exact score evaluation relies on model parameters, often undisclosed. These models, like those from the R gamlss package, include individual data protected by law and consent, hindering full transparency. Thus, this paper proposes standards for publishing test norms that allow precise score evaluation while protecting participant privacy. We outline specific requirements for norms publications: a) the exact presentation of the fitted model that contains the estimates of all model parameters and other information required for exact evaluation; b) computer sharable fit of the model that does not contain any sensitive information and can be used by those with programming skills to evaluate scores; and c) a web-based application that can be used by those without programming skills to use the results of the fitted model. To facilitate publication and utilization of norms, we have developed and provided in this manuscript an open-source R package of tools for authors and users alike.

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