Understanding Statistical Significance

A collection of flashcards to review key concepts related to statistical significance, variability, p-values, and their implications.

What is required in addition to the mean to determine if results support a prediction?

A measure of variability.

What does a low variability in groups indicate?

There is little overlap between the scores of the two groups.

What is a p-value?

A probability value that indicates the likelihood that the observed difference is due to chance.

What does a p-value less than 0.05 generally indicate?

There is less than a 5% chance that the difference observed was due to chance alone.

What is a limitation of conducting multiple hypothesis tests?

The more tests conducted, the higher the likelihood of finding a false positive.

What should a scientist conclude when a p-value is greater than 0.05?

There is no evidence for a meaningful difference.

What is a common criticism of the 0.05 threshold for statistical significance?

It is arbitrary and does not account for the practical significance of the findings.

What is an effect size?

A statistic that indicates the degree of difference between two groups.

Why might a statistical difference not imply practical significance?

A statistically significant difference may not reflect a noticeable difference in real-world behavior.

What does a small effect size indicate about two distributions?

There is a lot of overlap between the two groups, suggesting a minimal real difference.