Davies, J.B. and Ross, A. (2013) Sorry everyone, but it didn't work (p = 0.06). Addiction Research and Theory, 21(4), pp. 348-355. (doi: 10.3109/16066359.2012.728261)
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Abstract
The more or less ubiquitous use of Fisher-type statistics in quantitative/numeric evaluations of drug and alcohol education initiatives takes place within the context of a literature of long standing which suggests there are areas in which null hypothesis testing and the use of conventional cut-off points (i.e. the 1% and 5% probability levels) are inappropriate. This literature is largely ignored. The paper identifies some of these issues in terms of their relevance to the problems of evaluation of drug/alcohol programmes. The paper argues that the qualitative approach does not solve these problems but merely by-passes them, as well as being unsatisfactory in a number of ways. Thus, it is concluded that there is a pressing need for change in the type of quantitative approach adopted. Suggestions are made for a variety of exploratory methods, still involving broadly numerical analysis, which have a philosophical rather than a merely technical base, and which shed light on ‘what is going on’ rather than merely providing a binary decision (it worked/it did not work) derived from an arbitrary criterion for statistical significance and a null hypothesis which is usually known to be false from the start.
Item Type: | Articles |
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Status: | Published |
Refereed: | Yes |
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: | Ross, Dr Alastair |
Authors: | Davies, J.B., and Ross, A. |
College/School: | College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Medicine, Dentistry & Nursing > Dental School |
Journal Name: | Addiction Research and Theory |
ISSN: | 1606-6359 |
ISSN (Online): | 1476-7392 |
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