Statistical Power and the Classical Twin Design. (April 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Sham, Pak C.; Purcell, Shaun M.; Cherny, Stacey S.; Neale, Michael C.; Neale, Benjamin M.
• Editors: Evans, David; Medland, Sarah; Gillespie, Nathan
• Is Part Of: Twin research and human genetics. Volume 23:Number 2(2020)
• Page Start: 87
• Page End: 89
• Publication Date: 2020-04
• Subjects: Twin studies, -- statistical power, -- type I error, -- type II error, -- null hypothesis, -- research design, -- statistical significance, -- effect size; Twins -- Periodicals; Multiple birth -- Periodicals; 618.25
• DOI: 10.1017/thg.2020.46
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1832-4274

Abstract

Abstract: Dr Nick Martin has made enormous contributions to the field of behavior genetics over the past 50 years. Of his many seminal papers that have had a profound impact, we focus on his early work on the power of twin studies. He was among the first to recognize the importance of sample size calculation before conducting a study to ensure sufficient power to detect the effects of interest. The elegant approach he developed, based on the noncentral chi-squared distribution, has been adopted by subsequent researchers for other genetic study designs, and today remains a standard tool for power calculations in structural equation modeling and other areas of statistical analysis. The present brief article discusses the main aspects of his seminal paper, and how it led to subsequent developments, by him and others, as the field of behavior genetics evolved into the present era.