WHEN AND WHERE P-VALUE IS REQUIRED: MISNOMERS IN CLINICALAND STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE

Abstract

The interpretation of the p-value has been an arena for discussion making it difficult for many researchers. The p-value was introduced in 1900 by Pearson. Though, it is very difficult to comment about the demerits of the p-values and significance testing which has not been spoken in a long time because of the practical application of it as a measure of interpretation in clinical research. The usage of the confidence intervals around the sample statistics and effect size should be given more importance than relying solely upon the statistical significance. The researchers, should be consulting a statistician in the initial stages of the planning of the study for avoidance of the misinterpretation of the P-value especially if they are using statistical software for their data analysis.