Moving Towards the Post p < 0.05 Era via the Analysis of Credibility

Abstract

It is now widely accepted that the techniques of null hypothesis significance testing (NHST) are routinely misused and misinterpreted by researchers seeking insight from data. There is, however, no consensus on acceptable alternatives, leaving researchers with little choice but to continue using NHST, regardless of its failings. I examine the potential for the Analysis of Credibility (AnCred) to resolve this impasse. Using real-life examples, I assess the ability of AnCred to provide researchers with a simple but robust framework for assessing study findings that goes beyond the standard dichotomy of statistical significance/nonsignificance. By extracting more insight from standard summary statistics while offering more protection against inferential fallacies, AnCred may encourage researchers to move toward the post p < 0.05 era.