Manipulating the alpha level cannot cure significance testing

• Autores: Trafimow, David; Amrhein, Valentin; Areshenkoff, Corson N.; Barrera-Causil, Carlos J.; Beh, Eric J.; Bilgiç, Yusuf K.; Bono, Roser; Bradley, Michael T.; Briggs, William M.; Cepeda-Freyre, Héctor A.; Chaigneau, Sergio E.; Ciocca, Daniel Ramon; Correa, Juan C.; Cousineau, Denis; de Boer, Michiel R.; Dhar, Subhra S.; Dolgov, Igor; Gómez-Benito, Juana; Grendar, Marian; Grice, James W.; Guerrero Gimenez, Martin Eduardo; Gutiérrez, Andrés; Huedo-Medina, Tania B.; Jaffe, Klaus; Janyan, Armina; Karimnezhad, Ali; Korner-Nievergelt, Fränzi; Kosugi, Koji; Lachmair, Martin; Ledesma, Ruben Daniel; Limongi, Roberto; Liuzza, Marco T.; Lombardo, Rosaria; Marks, Michael J.; Meinlschmidt, Gunther; Nalborczyk, Ladislas; Nguyen, Hung T.; Ospina, Raydonal; Perezgonzalez, Jose D.; Pfister, Roland; Rahona, Juan J.; Rodríguez-Medina, David A.; Romão, Xavier; Ruiz-Fernández, Susana; Suarez, Isabel; Tegethoff, Marion; Tejo, Mauricio; Van de Schoot, Rens; Vankov, Ivan I.; Velasco-Forero, Santiago; Wang, Tonghui; Yamada, Yuki; Zoppino, Felipe Carlos Martin; Marmolejo-Ramos, Fernando
• Año de publicación: 2018
• Idioma: inglés
• Tipo de recurso: artículo
• Materia: DECISION MAKING; NULL HYPOTHESIS TESTING; P-VALUE; SIGNIFICANCE TESTING; STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE
• Institución: Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas

We argue that making accept/reject decisions on scientific hypotheses, including a recent call for changing the canonical alpha level from p = 0.05 to p = 0.005, is deleterious for the finding of new discoveries and the progress of science. Given that blanket and variable alpha levels both are problematic, it is sensible to dispense with significance testing altogether. There are alternatives that address study design and sample size much more directly than significance testing does; but none of the statistical tools should be taken as the new magic method giving clear-cut mechanical answers. Inference should not be based on single studies at all, but on cumulative evidence from multiple independent studies. When evaluating the strength of the evidence, we should consider, for example, auxiliary assumptions, the strength of the experimental design, and implications for applications. To boil all this down to a binary decision based on a p-value threshold of 0.05, 0.01, 0.005, or anything else, is not acceptable.
Fil: Trafimow, David. New Mexico State University Las Cruces;
Fil: Amrhein, Valentin. Universitat Basel, Zoologisches Institut;
Fil: Areshenkoff, Corson N.. Queen's University, Kingston; Canadá
Fil: Barrera-Causil, Carlos J.. Metropolitan Institute Of Technology;; Colombia
Fil: Beh, Eric J.. Universidad de Newcastle; Australia
Fil: Bilgiç, Yusuf K.. State University Of New York Geneseo; Estados Unidos
Fil: Bono, Roser. Universidad de Barcelona;; España
Fil: Bradley, Michael T.. University Of New Brunswick; Canadá
Fil: Briggs, William M.. University Of New Brunswick; Canadá
Fil: Cepeda-Freyre, Héctor A.. Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla; México
Fil: Chaigneau, Sergio E.. Universidad Adolfo Ibañez; Chile
Fil: Ciocca, Daniel Ramon. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Medicina y Biología Experimental de Cuyo; Argentina
Fil: Correa, Juan C.. Universidad Nacional de Colombia; Colombia
Fil: Cousineau, Denis. University of Ottawa; Canadá
Fil: de Boer, Michiel R.. Amsterdam Public Health; Países Bajos
Fil: Dhar, Subhra S.. Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam;
Fil: Dolgov, Igor. New Mexico State University Las Cruces; Estados Unidos
Fil: Gómez-Benito, Juana. Universidad de Barcelona;; España
Fil: Grendar, Marian. Slovenskej Akadémie Vied Ústav Merania Je Vedeckou Inštitúciou; República Checa
Fil: Grice, James W.. Oklahoma State University - Stillwater; Estados Unidos
Fil: Guerrero-Gimenez, Martin E.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Medicina y Biología Experimental de Cuyo; Argentina
Fil: Gutiérrez, Andrés. Saint Thomas University; Colombia
Fil: Huedo-Medina, Tania B.. University of Connecticut;Estados Unidos ; Estados Unidos
Fil: Jaffe, Klaus. Universidad Simón Bolívar; Venezuela
Fil: Janyan, Armina. New Bulgarian University; Bulgaria
Fil: Karimnezhad, Ali. University of Ottawa; Canadá
Fil: Korner-Nievergelt, Fränzi. Swiss Ornithological Institute; Suiza
Fil: Kosugi, Koji. Senshu University; Japón
Fil: Lachmair, Martin. Leibniz-institut Für Wissensmedien; Alemania
Fil: Ledesma, Ruben Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina