Question.1081 - Consider the scenario: A research paper claims a meaningful contribution to the literature based on finding statistically significant relationships between predictor and response variables. In the footnotes, you see the following statement, “given this research was exploratory in nature, traditional levels of significance to reject the null hypotheses were relaxed to the .10 level.” Post your response to the scenario in which you critically evaluate this footnote. As a reader/reviewer, what response would you provide to the authors about this footnote?
Answer Below:
I would ask the authors to clarify the rationale behind relaxing the significance level to 0.10. The reason the authors believe their research is exploratory should be made clear. If this signifies that the study generated rather than tested hypotheses, they should go into more detail and explain what conclusions they hoped to draw from this exploratory analysis. The authors should go into the possible effects of using a higher significance level (0.10) on how their findings should be interpreted. They should talk about how the probability of Type I errors can affect the study's findings and whether or not this possibility has been taken into account (American Statistical Association, 2016). I recommend the authors perform sensitivity analyses with various significance levels, such as 0.05, 0.10, and 0.20, and submit the results in order to evaluate the consistency of their findings. This can help readers gauge the stability of their conclusions. While relaxing the significance level in exploratory research may be acceptable under certain circumstances, the authors must provide a strong rationale, transparent reporting, and a clear understanding of the implications (American Statistical Association, 2016). The response to the footnote should ensure the research maintains scientific rigor and credibility while accounting for the specific goals of the study. References American Statistical Association (2016). American Statistical Association Releases Statement on Statistical Significance and P-ValuesLinks to an external site. Retrieved from https://www.amstat.org/asa/files/pdfs/p-valuestatement.pdfMore Articles From Statistics
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