General considerations for sample size estimation in animal study
Open accessAbstract
The aim of this paper is to introduce basic concepts and methods for calculating sample size in animal studies. At the planning stage of clinical studies, the determination of the sample size is a very important process to show the validity, accuracy, and reliability of the study. However, not all studies require a sample size to be calculated. Before conducting the study, it is essential to determine whether the study objectives suggest a pilot and exploratory study, as well as the purpose of testing the hypothesis of interest. Since most animal experiments are pilot and exploratory studies, it would be more appropriate to review other considerations for conducting an experiment while maintaining scientific and qualitative levels rather than sample size estimation. Sample size is calculated in various situations in animal studies. Therefore, it can be estimated according to the situations and objectives through the methods of precision analysis, power analysis, and so on. In some cases, nonparametric methods can be employed if the assumptions of normality is not met or a small sample is available for the study.
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The need for an appropriate sample size calculation has become a major trend in research.
“Although there have been debates on sample size calculation and power analysis [3,4,6], the need for an appropriate sample size calculation has become a major trend in research [1,2,7-11].”
From Sample size determination and power analysis using the G*Power software (2021) · cites this paper as [7]
In general, sample size calculation and power analysis are determined by effect size, power (1-β), significance level (α), and type of statistical analysis.
“In general, the sample size calculation and power analysis are determined by the following factors: effect size, power (1-β), significance level (α), and type of statistical analysis [1,7].”
From Sample size determination and power analysis using the G*Power software (2021) · cites this paper as [7]
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- Authors
- Ko, M. J., & Lim, C.-Y.
- Affiliations
- Dongguk University (KR)
- Corresponding author
- Lim, Chi-Yeon
- Venue
- Korean Journal of Anesthesiology
- Published
- 2021-02-01
- Volume
- 74
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 23-29
- ISSN
- 0302-5780 (ISSN-L)
- 2005-6419
- 2005-7563
- PMC
- PMC7862939
- OpenAlex
- W3122628136
- Cited by
- 52
- References
- 5
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 16 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 3
- FWCI
- 8.56
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- diamond
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Korean Journal of Anesthesiology (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Veterinary › Small Animals › Animal testing and alternatives
- Physical Sciences › Mathematics › Statistics and Probability › Statistical Methods in Clinical Trials
- Physical Sciences › Mathematics › Statistics and Probability › Statistical Methods in Epidemiology
- Keywords
- sample size determination, animal experimentation, power analysis, precision analysis, nonparametric statistics, pilot study, exploratory research, hypothesis testing, research design
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Disease Models, Animal, Research Design, Reproducibility of Results, Sample Size
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