Yates and contingency tables: 75 years later.
David B. Hitchcock · 2009
Seventy-five years ago, Yates (1934) presented an article introducing his continuity correction to the χ2 test for independence in contingency tables. The paper also was one of the first introductions to Fisher’s exact test. We discuss the historical importance of Yates and his 1934 paper. The development of the exact test and continuity correction are studied in some detail. Subsequent disputes about the exact test and continuity correction are recounted. We examine the current relevance of these issues and the 1934 paper itself and attempt to ascertain its place in history.