Criteria are briefly proposed for final conclusions, research problems, and research hypotheses in quantitative research. Moreover, based on a proposed definition of applied and basic/general research, it is argued that (1) in applied quantitative research, while research problems are necessary, research hypotheses are unjustified, and that (2) in…

Although the null hypothesis significance testing procedure is problematic, many still favor the use of "p"-values as indicating the state of evidence against the model used to generate the "p"-value. From this perspective, "p"-values benefit science; or would benefit science if used correctly. In contrast, the novel…

When a psychologist announces a new research finding, it is often based on a rejected null hypothesis. However, if that hypothesis is true, the claim is a false alarm. Many students mistakenly believe that the probability of committing a false alarm equals alpha, the criterion for statistical significance, which is typically set at 5%. Instructors…

The hypothesis that pretend play facilitates the creative thought process in children has received a great deal of attention. In a literature review, Lillard et al. (2013, p. 8) concluded that the evidence for this hypothesis was "not convincing." This article focuses on experimental and training studies that have tested this hypothesis.…

An empirical study of the power of the F test in normal populations with variances proportional to the cell means is reported. The results indicate that the power of the test can be approximated by the noncentral F distribution with a modified parameter of noncentrality. (Author/CM)

It is suggested that the binomial theorem be used to compute the probability that a given number of Type I errors would occur when a group of null hypotheses are true and that this result be used as the level of significance for the test of an overall hypothesis. (Author/BW)

Too often researchers rely upon the classical normal theory parametric tests to analyze non-normal data, even though the tests may not be robust to violations of that assumption. Fligner's class of two-sample tests for scale is an important development because the test is distribution-free and has desirable properties. This paper outlines the…

Many researchers, including Buriel (EJ 187 987), incorrectly compared the results in each study with null hypotheses of zero differences between means or zero population correlations. Instead, a test of difference between the mean differences in the two samples or the direct comparison of the two sample correlations is required. (Author/CP)

Presents situations in which researchers can use the general linear model to uncover reasons for discrepant effect-size results of meta-analysis of similar studies. Situations include similarly labeled treatments or participants differing in important ways, treatment effectiveness varying by subject aptitude or situational variables, research…

Over the 17 years since a previous review by 2 of the present authors, the field of clinical neuropsychology has made advances in techniques, theoretical constructs, and statistical models. With careful attention to methodological issues and underlying concepts and hypotheses, the field will continue to thrive. (SLD)

A correction of the standard F-ratio for unreliability of the dependent measure has recently been proposed by Winne; the rationale is analogous to that of correcting a correlation for attenuation. However, there are two problems associated with Winne's correction of which potential users should be aware. First, the corrected statistic, F*, has…

An equation was derived to determine the relationship between the pooled within-subgroup r (correlation coefficient) and the r obtained from the total group data. It was, thus, possible to assess the amount of distortion introduced by pooling heterogeneous subgroups. As a basis for deciding whether to pool two subgroups in order to calculate a…

The problems of two way analysis of variance designs with unequal and disproportionate cell sizes are discussed. A variety of solutions are discussed and a new solution is presented. (JKS)

A novel solution to the statistical problems in an evaluation of rare events is described. The significance of variations in the number of child homicides is analyzed in a binary time series of "active" months for monitoring future incidence and related systemic events. (Author/CM)