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. 1994 Feb;62(1):75-82.
doi: 10.1037//0022-006x.62.1.75.

Misuse of statistical test in three decades of psychotherapy research

R Dar  1 , R C Serlin, H Omer
Affiliations

Misuse of statistical test in three decades of psychotherapy research

R Dar et al. J Consult Clin Psychol. 1994 Feb.

Abstract

This article reviews the misuse of statistical tests in psychotherapy research studies published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology in the years 1967-1968, 1977-1978, and 1987-1988. It focuses on 3 major problems in statistical practice: inappropriate uses of null hypothesis tests and p values, neglect of effect size, and inflation of Type I error rate. The impressive frequency of these problems is documented, and changes in statistical practices over the past 3 decades are interpreted in light of trends in psychotherapy research. The article concludes with practical suggestions for rational application of statistical tests.

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