1st Edition

The Significance Test Controversy A Reader

By Ramon E. Henkel Copyright 1970
352 Pages
by Routledge

352 Pages
by Routledge

347 Pages
by Routledge

Tests of significance have been a key tool in the research kit of behavioral scientists for nearly fifty years, but their widespread and uncritical use has recently led to a rising volume of controversy about their usefulness. This book gathers the central papers in this continuing debate, brings the issues into clear focus, points out practical problems and philosophical pitfalls involved in... Read more
Introduction: A Preview of the Issues and an Overview of the Readings; One: Critical Historical Context; Introduction; 1: The Contemporary Crisis or the Uncertainties of Uncertain Inference; 2: Statistical Prudence and Statistical Inference; 3: Significance as Interpreted by the School of R. A. Fisher; Two: The Controversy in Sociology; Introduction; 4: The Notion of a Hypothetical Universe; 5: The Significance of Insignificant Differences; 6: Statistical Problems; 7: Note on Significance Tests; 8: Some Pitfalls of Data Analysis Without a Formal Criterion; 9: A Critique of Tests of Significance in Survey Research; 10: Comment on “A Critique of Tests of” Significance; 11: Reply to Gold’s Comment on “A Critique of Tests of Significance”; 12: On “A Critique of Tests of Significance in Survey Research”; 13: Reply to Beshers; 14: Randomization and Inference in Sociological Research; 15: Some Statistical Problems in Research Design; 16: Theory, Probability, and Induction in Social Research; 17: The Sacredness of .05; 18: Common Misinterpretations of Significance Levels in Sociological Journals; 19: Criteria for Selecting a Significance Level:; 20: Statistical Tests and Substantive Significance; 21: Significance Tests Reconsidered; 22: Proof? No. Evidence? Yes. The Significance of Tests of Significance; Three: Criticism by Psychologists; Introduction; 23: The Statistical Concepts of Confidence and Significance; 24: The Fallacy of the Null Hypothesis Significance Test; 25: The Test of Significance in Psychological Research; 26: Theory Testing in Psychology and Physics; 27: Statistical Significance in Psychological Research; Four: Criticism from Other Quarters; Introduction; 28: Tests of Significance Considered as Evidence; 29: Publication Decisions and Their Possible Effects on Inferences Drawn from Tests of Significance—or Vice Versa; 30: Publication Decisions and Tests of Significance; Five: Epilogue; 31: Significance Tests in Behavioral Research

Biography

Ramon E. Henkel