Arbeitspapier

Misinterpreting a failure to disconfirm as a confirmation: A recurrent misreading of significance tests

When a significance test fails to disconfirm a hypothesis economist often interpret this as evidence that this hypothesis is valid. Six such examples are cited from recent journals. But this is a misinterpretation of what significance tests show. Presumably this misinterpretation is founded on the valid principle that every failure to disconfirm a hypothesis adds to its credibility. But that principle defines a failure to disconfirm in a way that differs sharply from the way that this phrase is used in the context of significance tests. Some ways of ameliorating this problem exist.

Sprache
Englisch

Erschienen in
Series: Working Paper ; No. 01-8

Klassifikation
Wirtschaft
Thema
significance tests
t values
t coefficients
confirmation
Statistischer Test
Theorie

Ereignis
Geistige Schöpfung
(wer)
Mayer, Thomas
Ereignis
Veröffentlichung
(wer)
University of California, Department of Economics
(wo)
Davis, CA
(wann)
2001

Handle
Letzte Aktualisierung
10.03.2025, 11:43 MEZ

Datenpartner

Dieses Objekt wird bereitgestellt von:
ZBW - Deutsche Zentralbibliothek für Wirtschaftswissenschaften - Leibniz-Informationszentrum Wirtschaft. Bei Fragen zum Objekt wenden Sie sich bitte an den Datenpartner.

Objekttyp

  • Arbeitspapier

Beteiligte

  • Mayer, Thomas
  • University of California, Department of Economics

Entstanden

  • 2001

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