ReviewPatterns (New York, N.Y.)2023
The roles, challenges, and merits of the p value.
Review in Patterns (New York, N.Y.), 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 26 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
26 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Exploring oral microbiome in oral squamous cell carcinoma across environment-associated sample types.Microbiology spectrum · 2025Pooled it
- [Interpretation of effect measures in clinical research: A practical guide for the clinician].Revista medica del Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social · 2026Review
- Risk factors associated with moderate and severe traumatic brain injury mortality in admitted older adults: a retrospective, single-center study at a level II trauma center.Journal of trauma and injury · 2026Article
- Reporting of second-generationContemporary clinical trials communications · 2026Article
- An Investigation of Elevated Serum Copper Levels Following Bariatric Surgery.Obesity surgery · 2026Article
- Navigating the Waters: Decision Trees for Optimal Fish Consumption Guidelines.ACS environmental Au · 2026Article
- ctDNA monitoring using tumor-informed copy number analysis.EMBO molecular medicine · 2026Article
- Cutting through the p-value: evaluating clinical relevance in surgical literature analyzing the approaches for inguinal hernia repair.Surgical endoscopy · 2025Article
- Joint Bacterial Traces in the Gut and Oral Cavity of Obesity Patients Provide Evidence for Saliva as a Rich Microbial Biomarker Source.Nutrients · 2025Article
- Conclusions reported in European Orthodontic Congress poster abstracts: are they based on clinical or statistical significance?European journal of orthodontics · 2025Article
- Recurring low statistical robustness in orthopaedic surgery: A systematic review of 84 fragility index studies.Journal of experimental orthopaedics · 2025Review
- Statistical Rigor and Reproducibility in the AI EraBalkan medical journal · 2025Article
- A Radiogenomic Deep Ensemble Learning Model for Identifying Radionecrosis Following Brain Metastases (BM) Stereotactic Radiosurgery in Patients With Non-small Cell Lung Cancer BM.Advances in radiation oncology · 2025Article
- Authors' response.The Indian journal of medical research · 2025Article
- Research methods in genetic counseling: Statistical approaches and resources.Journal of genetic counseling · 2025Article
- Benefits of targeted deployment of physician-led interprofessional pre-hospital teams on the care of critically ill and injured patients: the 'science' explained.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine · 2025Article
- Design of Twisted Two-Dimensional Heterostructures and Performance Regulation Descriptor for Electrocatalytic Ammonia Production from Nitric Oxide.Journal of the American Chemical Society · 2025Article
- Article
- The null hypothesis significance test and the dichotomization of the p-value: Errare Humanum Est.Revista peruana de medicina experimental y salud publica · 2025Review
- Decision Rules in Frequentist and Bayesian Hypothesis Testing: P-Value and Bayes Factor.International journal of public health · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
14 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Since the 18th century, the p value has been an important part of hypothesis-based scientific investigation. As statistical and data science engines accelerate, questions emerge: to what extent are scientific discoveries based on p values reliable and reproducible? Should one adjust the significance level or find alternatives for the p value? Inspired by these questions and everlasting attempts to address them, here, we provide a systematic examination of the p value from its roles and merits to its misuses and misinterpretations. For the latter, we summarize modest recommendations to handle them. In parallel, we present the Bayesian alternatives for seeking evidence and discuss the pooling of p values from multiple studies and datasets. Overall, we argue that the p value and hypothesis testing form a useful probabilistic decision-making mechanism, facilitating causal inference, feature selection, and predictive modeling, but that the interpretation of the p value must be contextual, considering the scientific question, experimental design, and statistical principles.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.