Significance

Statistical significance is a mathematical procedure for determining whether a null hypothesis can be rejected at a given alpha level. Tests of statistical significance play a large role in quantitative research designs but are frequently misinterpreted. The most common misinterpretation of the test of significance is to confuse statistical significance with the practical significance of the research results. Other indexes need to be calculated in each study to set statistical significance in proper perspective. Effect size measures, for example, is a valuable tool that estimates the magnitude of the difference, relationship, or effect in the population being studied.