Avoiding the eyeballing fallacy: Visualizing statistical differences between estimates using the pheatplot command

Elisa Brini (), Solveig Topstad Borgen () and Nicolai T. Borgen ()
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Elisa Brini: University of Florence
Solveig Topstad Borgen: University of Oslo
Nicolai T. Borgen: University of Oslo

Stata Journal, 2025, vol. 25, issue 1, 77-96

Abstract: Graphical representations of coefficients and their confidence intervals are increasingly used in research presentations and publications because they are easier and quicker to read than tables. However, in coefficient plots that include several estimated coefficients, researchers often use confidence intervals to eyeball whether coefficients are statistically significant from each other, which results in an overly conservative test and increased risk of type II errors. To help avoid this eyeballing fallacy, we introduce the pheatplot postestimation command, which vi- sualizes the statistical significance across estimates of categorical variables in a re- gression model. pheatplot efficiently compares the significance level between point estimates and helps researchers avoid making wrong assumptions about whether estimates differ. Moreover, by representing p-values as continuous measures rather than binary thresholds, it provides the flexibility to move beyond arbitrary cut- offs of statistical significance. This article offers some examples that illustrate the functionality of the pheatplot command.

Keywords: pheatplot; heatplot; lincom; coefplot; eyeballing fallacy; confi- dence intervals; p-values; statistical significance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1177/1536867X251322962

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