P value

P-value

The P-value or probability value is a statistical measure that helps in determining the significance of results after a hypothesis test in statistics. P-values are used in hypothesis testing to help you support or reject the null hypothesis. It represents the probability that the results of your test occurred at random. If p-value is small, it means it is unlikely that the results happened by chance, hence, you reject the null hypothesis.

Definition

The p-value is defined as the probability, under the assumption of hypothesis, of obtaining a result equal to or more extreme than what was actually observed.

Calculation

The calculation of the p-value depends on the type of test being performed. It is a complex calculation as it involves the understanding of statistical distributions such as the Student's t-distribution and Normal distribution.

Interpretation

The interpretation of the p-value is dependent on the significance level of the hypothesis test. A common threshold for significance is 0.05. If the p-value is less than 0.05, the null hypothesis is rejected.

Criticism

Despite its widespread use, the p-value has been criticized for being misunderstood and misused in scientific research.

See also

• Statistical significance
• Null hypothesis
• Type I and type II errors
• Confidence interval

References

P value Resources
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