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Posts uit februari, 2015 tonen

Can we Live without Inferential Statistics?

The journal Basic and Applied Social Psychology  ( BASP ) has taken a resolute and bold step. A  recent editorial  announces that it has banned the reporting of inferential statistics. F -values, t -values, p -values and the like have all been declared personae non gratae. And so have confidence intervals. Bayes factors are not exactly banned but aren’t welcomed with open arms either; they are eyed with suspicion, like a mysterious traveler in a tavern. There is a vigorous debate in the scientific literature and in the social media about the pros and cons of Null Hypothesis Significance Testing (NHST), confidence intervals, and Bayesian statistics ( making researchers in some frontier towns quite nervous ). The editors at BASP  have seen enough of this debate and have decided to do away with inferential statistics altogether. Sure, you're allowed to submit a manuscript that’s loaded with p -values and statements about significance or the lack thereof, but they will be rigoro