Spin

Spin is the art of making a failure look like a success.

It happens when a study misses its primary goal (p > 0.05), but the authors want to get published in a top journal.

Common Tactics

1. Focusing on Secondary Outcomes: "The drug didn't save lives (primary goal), but it reduced coughing (secondary goal)!"
2. Subgroup Analysis: "It didn't work for everyone, but it worked for women under 30!"
3. Linguistic Gymnastics: Using words like "promising," "trend towards significance," or "clinically meaningful" to hide a statistical failure.

The Abstract Trap

Most doctors only read the abstract. Authors know this.

They put the spin in the abstract and bury the truth in the results table.

The Diagnosis

Ignore the adjectives. Look at the numbers.

If the primary endpoint failed, the study failed. Everything else is just marketing.