A nurse researcher is conducting a statistical test and finds that the p-value is 0.03. What does this finding indicate?
Understand the Problem
The question is asking us to interpret the meaning of a p-value of 0.03 in the context of statistical hypothesis testing. Specifically, it wants to know what this result indicates regarding the null hypothesis and the significance of the findings.
Answer
The finding is statistically significant, with p < 0.05
The finding indicates statistical significance, as a p-value of 0.03 is less than the common significance level of 0.05, meaning there is less than a 3% probability that the observed data would occur if the null hypothesis were true.
Answer for screen readers
The finding indicates statistical significance, as a p-value of 0.03 is less than the common significance level of 0.05, meaning there is less than a 3% probability that the observed data would occur if the null hypothesis were true.
More Information
A p-value less than or equal to the significance level indicates that the result is unlikely to have occurred by chance, thus rejecting the null hypothesis.
Tips
A common mistake is misunderstanding that a p-value indicates the probability that the null hypothesis is true. It actually measures the probability of observing the results (or more extreme) assuming the null hypothesis is true.
Sources
- P-Value And Statistical Significance - Simply Psychology - simplypsychology.org
- Hypothesis Testing, P Values, Confidence Intervals, and Significance - ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
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