A systematic review of the statistical scope of restoration ecology of invaded grassland ecosystems
Amanda Liczner
Purpose: to describe the statistical scope of studies restoring invaded grasslands
Most common statistical tests over time
Statistical reporting
Influence on citation rate and journal impact
Methods: systematic literature search and PRISMA report
Search terms: (restor*) AND (grass* OR savanna) AND (non-native* OR invas* OR invad* OR alien)
Refined to “ecology”
Results: the majority of studies tested the assumptions of the statistical tests used 60.9% tested assumptions
Results: The number of stats tests, but not the number of factors, has a positive effect on citation rate and journal impact factor
Discussion: a shift from ANOVAs to GLMs is recommended
GLMs do not need a normally distributed response
GLMs are appropriate for many study designs
Discussion: statistical reporting needs improvement
Assumptions must be tested
Statistical models need to be appropriately described
Discussion: statistics influences the citation rate and journal impact factor
When possible sample size should be increased
Number of factors should not be increased at theexpense of sample size