Moving Beyond Statistical Significance: How to Improve the Reporting and Interpretation of Medical Research

Alessandro Rovetta, Mohammed Ali Mansournia, Pavlos Msaouel, Winston Lin, Steven Stovitz, Alessandro Vitale, Anna Chiara Frigo, Richard Riley and Sander Greenland
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Alessandro Rovetta: International Committee Against the Misuse of Statistical Significance, Bov

No 6xuhr_v1, MetaArXiv from Center for Open Science

Abstract: Many methodologists have warned against interpreting statistical estimates through dichotomous labels such as “significant” and “non-significant.” Yet, articles in medical journals still rely heavily on P-value thresholds and confidence interval boundaries to guide inference and communication of research findings. Here, Rovetta and colleagues discuss how such a focus on statistical “significance” obscures clinical relevance and uncertainty, whilst distorting evidence appraisals. Rather, they suggest P-values and confidence intervals should be interpreted as continuous measures of compatibility between data and hypotheses, which also reflect choices about how data are collected, modeled, and analyzed.

Date: 2026-10-06
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:osf:metaar:6xuhr_v1

DOI: 10.31222/osf.io/6xuhr_v1

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