Farewell to Bright-Line: A Guide to Reporting Quantitative Results Without the S-Word
Recent calls to end the practice of categorizing findings based on statistical significance have focused on what not to do. Practitioners who subscribe to the conceptual basis behind these calls may be unaccustomed to presenting results in the nuanced and integrative manner that has been recommended...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2020-05-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00815/full |
| _version_ | 1818808614910951424 |
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| author | Kevin M. Cummins Kevin M. Cummins Kevin M. Cummins Charles Marks |
| author_facet | Kevin M. Cummins Kevin M. Cummins Kevin M. Cummins Charles Marks |
| author_sort | Kevin M. Cummins |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Recent calls to end the practice of categorizing findings based on statistical significance have focused on what not to do. Practitioners who subscribe to the conceptual basis behind these calls may be unaccustomed to presenting results in the nuanced and integrative manner that has been recommended as an alternative. This alternative is often presented as a vague proposal. Here, we provide practical guidance and examples for adopting a research evaluation posture and communication style that operates without bright-line significance testing. Characteristics of the structure of results communications that are based on conventional significance testing are presented. Guidelines for writing results without the use of bright-line significance testing are then provided. Examples of conventional styles for communicating results are presented. These examples are then modified to conform to recent recommendations. These examples demonstrate that basic modifications to written scientific communications can increase the information content of scientific reports without a loss of rigor. The adoption of alternative approaches to results presentations can help researchers comply with multiple recommendations and standards for the communication and reporting of statistics in the psychological sciences. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-18T19:44:22Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f8c61ccabe10459f9162805542b885a7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-18T19:44:22Z |
| publishDate | 2020-05-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-f8c61ccabe10459f9162805542b885a72022-12-21T20:55:20ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782020-05-011110.3389/fpsyg.2020.00815525007Farewell to Bright-Line: A Guide to Reporting Quantitative Results Without the S-WordKevin M. Cummins0Kevin M. Cummins1Kevin M. Cummins2Charles Marks3Division of Infectious Disease and Global Public Health, SDSU-UCSD Joint Doctoral Program in Interdisciplinary Research on Substance Use, San Diego, CA, United StatesDepartment of Psychology, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, United StatesDepartment of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego,San Diego, CA, United StatesDivision of Infectious Disease and Global Public Health, SDSU-UCSD Joint Doctoral Program in Interdisciplinary Research on Substance Use, San Diego, CA, United StatesRecent calls to end the practice of categorizing findings based on statistical significance have focused on what not to do. Practitioners who subscribe to the conceptual basis behind these calls may be unaccustomed to presenting results in the nuanced and integrative manner that has been recommended as an alternative. This alternative is often presented as a vague proposal. Here, we provide practical guidance and examples for adopting a research evaluation posture and communication style that operates without bright-line significance testing. Characteristics of the structure of results communications that are based on conventional significance testing are presented. Guidelines for writing results without the use of bright-line significance testing are then provided. Examples of conventional styles for communicating results are presented. These examples are then modified to conform to recent recommendations. These examples demonstrate that basic modifications to written scientific communications can increase the information content of scientific reports without a loss of rigor. The adoption of alternative approaches to results presentations can help researchers comply with multiple recommendations and standards for the communication and reporting of statistics in the psychological sciences.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00815/fullscientific communicationstatistical significancenull hypothesis significance testingconfidence intervalsbright-line testing |
| spellingShingle | Kevin M. Cummins Kevin M. Cummins Kevin M. Cummins Charles Marks Farewell to Bright-Line: A Guide to Reporting Quantitative Results Without the S-Word Frontiers in Psychology scientific communication statistical significance null hypothesis significance testing confidence intervals bright-line testing |
| title | Farewell to Bright-Line: A Guide to Reporting Quantitative Results Without the S-Word |
| title_full | Farewell to Bright-Line: A Guide to Reporting Quantitative Results Without the S-Word |
| title_fullStr | Farewell to Bright-Line: A Guide to Reporting Quantitative Results Without the S-Word |
| title_full_unstemmed | Farewell to Bright-Line: A Guide to Reporting Quantitative Results Without the S-Word |
| title_short | Farewell to Bright-Line: A Guide to Reporting Quantitative Results Without the S-Word |
| title_sort | farewell to bright line a guide to reporting quantitative results without the s word |
| topic | scientific communication statistical significance null hypothesis significance testing confidence intervals bright-line testing |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00815/full |
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