Understanding p-values and the Controversy Surrounding Them

Jessica Utts
President of the American Statistical Association
Professor of Statistics, UC-Irvine

http://www.ics.uci.edu/~jutts/UttsPhoto.jpg

Abstract: Most researchers and journals rely heavily on p-values for determining whether the results of a study are worthy of publication. But recently p-values have come under attack, and one social science journal has gone as far as banning their use for papers submitted to the journal. These developments led the American Statistical Association (ASA) to release a statement titled “Statement on Statistical Significance and P-values (http://www.amstat.org/asa/files/pdfs/P-ValueStatement.pdf)” with six principles underlying the proper use and interpretation of p-values and statistical significance. In this talk I will present the ASA’s six principles and discuss what p-values really measure, some pitfalls related to their use, and what steps you can take to make sure your use of them is appropriate.

Sponsored by:

• The Boston Chapter of the ASA
• Smith College
• The Five College Statistics Program

Join us for tea at 4 pm before the talk!