Er, I shouldn't mean to imply that this is the same thing as actually _reaching_ significance, though. Even if her effect size is as large as those in published studies, she certainly can't talk about having found a significant effect. What she's losing is the "out on a limb" nature of science, and her discussion needs to reflect that. She might think about using words like "promising" to describe her findings <grin>.
It sounds like an excellent opportunity for her to learn about statistical power. Paul Smith Alverno College Milwaukee ----- Original Message ----- From: Paul Smith <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, November 11, 2002 7:36 AM Subject: Re: Marginally Significant? > Rob - > Have her calculate an effect size for her own results and for the > published results of other studies in her field. If her effect size is in > the ballpark of published results, she's in business. She can talk about > that instead of fretting about the significance level. If her effect size is > below the published values, she'll have to admit defeat (as it were...). > > Here's a nice little site she can read: > > http://web.uccs.edu/lbecker/SPSS/glm_effectsize.htm > > She'll be happy to see that it's a simple calculation, and can easily be > done with the published ANOVA tables of other studies (that is, all the > information she'll need is already in the papers she's reading). > > Wasn't there an entire issue of American Psychologist devoted to the > debate over the use of hypothesis testing, just a couple of years ago? > > Paul Smith > Alverno College > Milwaukee > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Rob Flint <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Monday, November 11, 2002 6:39 AM > Subject: Marginally Significant? > > > > One of my students doing her senior thesis ran her stats and got results > of > > .056 and .08 for two different ANOVAs. In the past I have seen published > > ..056 and .08 for two different ANOVAs. In the past I have seen published > > studies indicating that these are "marginally significant." How do you > deal > > with results of this nature? More importantly, do you have any citations > > (journals or books) that discuss the value of including/discussing results > > that seem to "approach significance"? > > > > Thanks, > > > > Rob Flint > > ------------------------------------------------------------- > > Robert W. Flint, Jr., Ph.D. > > The College of Saint Rose > > Department of Psychology > > 432 Western Avenue > > Albany, NY 12203-1490 > > > > Office: 518-458-5379 > > Lab: 518-454-2102 > > Fax: 518-458-5446 > > > > Behavioral Neuroscience Homepage: > > http://academic.strose.edu/academic/flintr/ > > Department of Psychology Homepage: > > http://academic.strose.edu/academic/psychology/index.htm > > > > > > --- > > You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > > --- > You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
