Online Program

Beyond P-Value: Statistical vs. Practical Significance (309849)

Keywords: p-value, clinical significance, statistical significance

In this talk, we will explore dichotomous aspects of statistical decision-making process. In testing, results are said to be statistically significant when the difference between the hypothesized population parameter and the observed sample statistic, is large enough to conclude that it is unlikely to have occurred by chance. Practical significance refers to the magnitude of the difference which is known as the effect size. Results are practically significant when the difference is large enough to be meaningful in real life. We will discuss with examples as to how statistical significance is directly impacted by sample size and other assumptions. We will emphasize that when results are statistically significant, it is important to also examine the practical significance.