Null Hypothesis Significance Testing (NHST)
Definition
A frequentist approach to inference used to test the probability of an observed effect against the null hypothesis of no effect/relationship (Pernet, 2015). Such a conclusion is arrived at through use of an index called the p-value. Specifically, researchers will conclude an effect is present when an a priori alpha threshold, set by the researchers, is satisfied; this determines the acceptable level of uncertainty and is closely related to Type I error.
References:
- Lakens, D., Scheel, A. M., & Isager, P. M. (2018). Equivalence testing for psychological research: A tutorial. Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science, 1(2), 259–269. https://doi.org/10.1177/2515245918770963
- Pernet, C. R. (2015). Null hypothesis significance testing: a short tutorial. F1000Research, 4, 621. https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.6963.3
- Spence, J. R., & Stanley, D. J. (2018). Concise, simple, and not wrong: In search of a short-hand interpretation of statistical significance. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 2185. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02185
Originally drafted by: Alaa AlDoh
Reviewed by: Jamie P. Cockcroft, Annalise A. LaPlume, Charlotte R. Pennington, Sonia Rishi
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