For scholars interested in empirical research, no number is
more important than .05. To paraphrase a 1967 article, the difference between
.05 and .06 is the difference between right and wrong, creditable and embarrassing,
success and failure. See James K.
Skipper, Jr., Anthony L. Guenther, and Gilbert Nass, The Sacredness of .05: A Note Concerning the Uses of Statistical Levels
of Significance in Social Science, 2 American Sociologist 16-18 (1967). When something is significant at the .05 level, we know it must be important.
Well, maybe this is not quite right. So this week two guests will share their thoughts on significance testing and how
best to think about it. First, we have Ramon Henkel of the Department of
Sociology at the University of Maryland. Along with Denton E. Morrison, Professor
Henkel co-edited The Significance Test
Controversy (Aldine 1970), which was just reissued last year. (It includes
the previously mentioned Skipper et al. article.) Second, we have Lawrence Mohr of the
Department of Political Science at the University of Michigan. Professor Mohr is the author of Understanding Significance Testing (Sage
1990).
A big ELS Blog welcome to them both.
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