Abstract
AbstractIt is well known that statistical power calculations can be valuable in planning an experiment. There is also a large literature advocating that power calculations be made whenever one performs a statistical test of a hypothesis and one obtains a statistically nonsignificant result. Advocates of such post-experiment power calculations claim the calculations should be used to aid in the interpretation of the experimental results. This approach, which appears in various forms, is fundamentally flawed. We document that the problem is extensive and present arguments to demonstrate the flaw in the logic.KEY WORDS: Bioequivalence testingBurden of proofObserved powerRetrospective power analysisStatistical powerType II error
Keywords
Statistical powerStatistical hypothesis testingPower (physics)Interpretation (philosophy)Statistical theoryKey (lock)EconometricsComputer scienceStatisticsMathematicsComputer securityPhysics
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Publication Info
- Year
- 2001
- Type
- article
- Volume
- 55
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 19-24
- Citations
- 1838
- Access
- Closed
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Cite This
John M. Hoenig,
Dennis M. Heisey
(2001).
The Abuse of Power.
The American Statistician
, 55
(1)
, 19-24.
https://doi.org/10.1198/000313001300339897
Identifiers
- DOI
- 10.1198/000313001300339897