After applying a statistical test, an investigator gets the ‘p value’ as 0.01. It means that ?
**Core Concept**
The question is asking about the interpretation of a statistical test result, specifically the 'p-value', in a medical research context. A p-value is a number that describes the probability of obtaining the observed data or a more extreme result, given the null hypothesis is true. In general, lower p-values indicate stronger evidence against the null hypothesis.
**Why the Correct Answer is Right:**
A **p value** of 0.01 indicates a very low probability (1% or 1 out of 100) of observing the observed data or more extreme data if the null hypothesis is true. This means that the observed data is extremely unlikely to occur by chance, suggesting that the alternative hypothesis (the hypothesis that is not the null hypothesis) is likely the correct explanation. In this context, a p-value of 0.01 would typically lead researchers to reject the null hypothesis in favor of the alternative hypothesis.
**Why Each Wrong Option is Incorrect:**
A) A p value of 0.1 (10%) is considered a "borderline" significance level, meaning that the evidence is suggestive but not strong enough to reject the null hypothesis. A p value of 0.05 (5%) is generally considered the conventional threshold for statistical significance.
B) A p value of 0.2 (20%) is considered a non-significant level, indicating that there is insufficient evidence to reject the null hypothesis.
C) A p value of 0.005 (5%) is stronger evidence against the null hypothesis compared to 0.01, but still falls within the conventional significance level.
D) A p value of 0.001 (1%) is even stronger evidence against the null hypothesis than 0.01, indicating that the observed data is extremely unlikely to occur by chance.
**Clinical Pearl:**
In medical research, p-values are often used to determine the strength of evidence against the null hypothesis. A lower p-value (e.g., 0.01) indicates a stronger reason to reject the null hypothesis, suggesting a more probable alternative explanation. This understanding is crucial in making well-informed decisions about rejecting or accepting the null hypothesis based on the collected data.
**Correct Answer Explanation:**
A p value of 0.01 (1%) indicates extremely low probability of the observed data occurring by chance (1 in 100). This suggests that the observed findings are highly unlikely under the null hypothesis and provide strong evidence against it. Therefore, researchers would typically reject the null hypothesis and accept the alternative hypothesis in this scenario, considering the results statistically significant.