A researcher finding that an effect is statistically significant is essentially making a decision that the result is unlikely to be what?
Explanation
This question probes the conceptual meaning behind a declaration of statistical significance, focusing on the rejection of 'chance' as an explanation.
Other questions
What is the primary function of descriptive statistics in data analysis?
Which of the following is defined as the midpoint of a distribution of scores?
What do measures of dispersion, such as range and standard deviation, describe?
According to the text, for what type of research are means and standard deviations typically computed?
What does a correlation coefficient of 0 indicate?
What is the primary purpose of inferential statistics?
What is a statistically significant effect?
What is the conventional threshold researchers use to determine if a result is statistically significant?
What is a Type I error in the context of statistical analysis?
What is a Type II error in the context of statistical analysis?
If a researcher sets the significance threshold to 5 percent, what is the chance of making a Type I error?
What is the relationship between the chances of making a Type I error and a Type II error?
What does a negative correlation coefficient indicate about the relationship between two variables?
Which of the following is defined as the average distance of scores from the mean?
Inferential statistics are described as crucial because the effects found in a study may be due to a real effect or what other factor?
What is the range of possible values for a correlation coefficient?
According to the chapter, what is one factor that makes Type II errors more likely to occur?
Which of the following is an example of a measure of central tendency?
What must a researcher conclude if inferential statistics reveal a greater than 5 percent chance that an effect could be due to chance error alone?
The text provides an example of a negative correlation between stressful life events and happiness. What does this imply?
What is the relationship between standard deviation and variance?
Why is it important for researchers to keep in mind that statistics are probabilistic in nature?
What does the text identify as a more common method for non-experimental research than computing simple percentages?
What does a positive correlation coefficient indicate about the relationship between height and weight?
When a researcher concludes that their results are not statistically significant, but there is a real effect in the population, what has occurred?
Which measure of dispersion calculates the distance between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution?
Why might a researcher choose a lower significance threshold, such as 1 percent instead of 5 percent?
According to the text, once an effect is deemed statistically significant, what is it appropriate for a researcher to do?
What is the term for the most frequently occurring score in a distribution?
The text states that inferential statistics help determine if differences in means or the correlation coefficient are due to a real effect or if they 'may reflect a real relationship between variables or a real effect of an independent variable on a dependent variable'. What is the alternative explanation they test against?
A researcher concludes that a new therapy is effective because the results were statistically significant. In reality, the therapy has no effect. What has happened?
What is the collective term for statistics used to organize or summarize a set of data, such as percentages and measures of central tendency?
If a correlation coefficient is -1.00, what does this value represent?
What is being described when all scores in a data set are similar and clustered around the mean?
If you reduce the chance of making a Type I error from 5 percent to 1 percent, what is the consequence for the chance of making a Type II error?
The text explains that data are analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. What is the role of inferential statistics in relation to the theory being tested?
Which descriptive statistic is just the standard deviation squared?
When is it appropriate to generalize results from a sample to the population?
A 'false positive' is another name for which type of statistical error?
In addition to a small sample size, what other factor is mentioned in the text as making a Type II error more likely?
What is the primary difference between descriptive and inferential statistics?
Which of the following statistics would be most appropriate for describing the relationship between two variables in non-experimental research?
If a researcher hopes that when they conclude an effect is not statistically significant, there really is no effect in the population, what are they hoping to avoid?
What does a correlation coefficient of -0.85 represent?
The average of a distribution of scores is known as the:
Why do researchers analyze data from a sample rather than the entire population?
If a result has a 4 percent chance of being due to random error, how would it typically be considered?
Which of the following is NOT listed as an example of a descriptive statistic in the chapter?
If you are trying to describe the typical, average, and center of a distribution of scores, what category of descriptive statistics would you use?