The Use of Statistical Significance Tests in Research

Abstract

Three of the various criticisms of conventional uses of statistical significance testing are elaborated. Three alternatives for augmenting statistical significance tests in interpreting results are then elaborated. These include emphasizing effect sizes, evaluating statistical significance tests in a sample size context, and evaluating result replicability. Ways of estimating result replicability from data in hand include crossvalidation, jackknife, and bootstrap logics. The bootstrap is explored in some detail.