Findings, implications and lessons learned

1. The above study protocol is typical of protocols that need to be prepared before any study is undertaken. A number of details are included deliberately in this protocol to stimulate further discussion on possible improvements that might be made. The first point to note about the protocol is that many of the aspects of experimental design are concerned with scientific rather than statistical method. This is important. There is no point designing a good statistical design if the scientific conduct of the experiment is poor. A biometrician should be able to follow what is proposed without necessarily understanding the details.