Classification of 2 x 2 sparse data sets with zero cells

The common remedial measure in dealing with sparsity of 2 x 2 tables having zero cells is adding a constant. However, addition of a constant could influence the interpretation of a Summary measure like the odds ratio and a sensitivity analysis needs to be carried out before making a final decision on choosing an appropriate constant. In this work an attempt has been made to devise a mechanism for classifying sparsity based on the odds ratio and to obtain the bounds for classification as a means for studying the sensitivity. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.