Hypothesis Testing in the Real World
Educational and Psychological Measurement
Published online on October 06, 2016
Abstract
Critics of null hypothesis significance testing suggest that (a) its basic logic is invalid and (b) it addresses a question that is of no interest. In contrast to (a), I argue that the underlying logic of hypothesis testing is actually extremely straightforward and compelling. To substantiate that, I present examples showing that hypothesis testing logic is routinely used in everyday life. These same examples also refute (b) by showing circumstances in which the logic of hypothesis testing addresses a question of prime interest. Null hypothesis significance testing may sometimes be misunderstood or misapplied, but these problems should be addressed by improved education.