P values in display items are ubiquitous and almost invariably significant: A survey of top science journals.

ABSTRACT: P values represent a widely used, but pervasively misunderstood and fiercely contested method of scientific inference. Display items, such as figures and tables, often containing the main results, are an important source of P values. We conducted a survey comparing the overall use of P values and the occurrence of significant P values in display items of a sample of articles in the three top multidisciplinary journals (Nature, Science, PNAS) in 2017 and, respectively, in 1997. We also examined the reporting of multiplicity corrections and its potential influence on the proportion of statistically significant P values. Our findings demonstrated substantial and growing reliance on P values in display items, with increases of 2.5 to 14.5 times in 2017 compared to 1997. The overwhelming majori

SUBMITTER: Cristea IA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5953482 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature