Accurate inference on a scalar interest parameter in the presence of a nuisance parameter may be obtained using an adjusted version of the signed root likelihood ratio statistic, in particular Barndorff-Nielsen's $R^*$ statistic. The adjustment made by this statistic may be decomposed into a sum of two terms, interpreted as correcting respectively for the possible effect of nuisance parameters and the deviation from standard normality of the signed root likelihood ratio statistic itself. We show that the adjustment terms are determined to second-order in the sample size by their means. Explicit expressions are obtained for the leading terms in asymptotic expansions of these means. These are easily calculated, allowing a simple way of quantifying and interpreting the respective effects of the two adjustments, in particular of the effect of a high dimensional nuisance parameter. Illustrations are given for a number of examples, which provide theoretical insight to the effect of nuisance parameters on parametric inference. The analysis provides a decomposition of the mean of the signed root statistic involving two terms: the first has the property of taking the same value whether there are no nuisance parameters or whether there is an orthogonal nuisance parameter, while the second is zero when there are no nuisance parameters. Similar decompositions are discussed for the Bartlett correction factor of the likelihood ratio statistic, and for other asymptotically standard normal pivots.