ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the four basic concepts in significance testing and it describes the steps of t test for statistical significance. There are two fundamental limitations of significance testing. Failure to recognize them can lead to misinterpretation of research results. The fundamental limitations of significance testing are: it fails to indicate the size of a difference, and it does not assess the practical significance of a difference. Typically, researchers hope to find that their differences are statistically significant. Furthermore, they hope that they will be highly significant at levels such as.01 or.001. This allows them to state in their research reports that the differences they have observed in their research is highly reliable. Reliable results are ones that researchers can count on from observation to observation or study to study. Just as employers are seeking reliable employees, researchers are seeking to identify reliable differences.
