Comments and Suggestions on Defining and Using P-Values and Null Hypothesis Tests

Abstract

Comments and Suggestions on Defining and Using P-Values and Null Hypothesis Tests David Marshall, Keston Lindsay Abstract Recent corrections of fallacious language about P-values preserved the debatable definition of the P-value as an element of evidence for or against a null hypothesis. Hypothesis tests are mathematical simulations. Simulations provide expectations about modeled outcomes and cannot provide empirical evidence concerning the object of the simulation. No element of the H0 test simulation, including the P-value, provides �evidence� for or against a hypothesis. Adequately powered hypothesis test simulations provide very encouraging predictions that correct decisions will be made about true and false null hypotheses, giving the researcher confidence that a correct decision about the hypothesis will be made. Computed test statistics and their related P-values remain useful as after-the-fact decision tools, while sample data and descriptive statistics make the sole empirical evidentiary base of support for a hypothesis. Full Text: PDF DOI: 10.15640/arms.v5n1a1