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. 2016 Aug 23:7:1247.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01247. eCollection 2016.

Misconceptions of the p-value among Chilean and Italian Academic Psychologists

Laura Badenes-Ribera  1 , Dolores Frias-Navarro  1 , Bryan Iotti  2 , Amparo Bonilla-Campos  1 , Claudio Longobardi  3
Affiliations

Misconceptions of the p-value among Chilean and Italian Academic Psychologists

Laura Badenes-Ribera et al. Front Psychol. .

Abstract

Common misconceptions of p-values are based on certain beliefs and attributions about the significance of the results. Thus, they affect the professionals' decisions and jeopardize the quality of interventions and the accumulation of valid scientific knowledge. We conducted a survey on 164 academic psychologists (134 Italian, 30 Chilean) questioned on this topic. Our findings are consistent with previous research and suggest that some participants do not know how to correctly interpret p-values. The inverse probability fallacy presents the greatest comprehension problems, followed by the replication fallacy. These results highlight the importance of the statistical re-education of researchers. Recommendations for improving statistical cognition are proposed.

Keywords: education; high education; p-value misconceptions; statistical cognition; survey.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Percentages of participants in each group who endorse at least one of the false statements in comparison to the studies of Badenes-Ribera et al. (2015a), Haller and Krauss (2002), and Oakes (1986).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Percentage of correct interpretation and statistical decision adopted broken down by knowledge area and nationality.
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