Data in the MMWR

by Chad Heilig, PhD, 2025-10-31

A purposive review with recommendations

The original purpose of this project was to develop and propose guidance for MMWR authors, reviewers of MMWR reports, and MMWR scientific editors. This version is adapted for sharing with learners, as a collection of examples of closely reviewing public health reports. We reviewed 56 full reports published between January 2019 and May 2022, to identify specific practices regarding presentations of data, analytic methods and results, tables and graphics, and interpretation of results. We also reviewed guidance from journals, the American Statistical Association, the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, and related sources.

Navigating this review on the web

The web-based version of this review features convenient navigation features that adapt to the size of your screen. Links to the previous section and next section appear at the bottom of each page. In a full size browser, the main body appears in a center column, and a table of contents (with live hyperlinks) appears on the left and subsections of the current section (“On this page”) appear on the right. On a smaller screen, the main body could appear with or without the additional navigation on the side. A built-in search box allows you to find specific terms in the review.

The web version was produced using bookdown through the RStudio, formatted with Bootstrap.

A PDF version of this review is available.

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