---
abstract: 'I describe and question the argument that in psychological research, the significance test should be replaced (or, at least, supplemented) by a more informative index (viz., effect size or statistical power) in the case of theory-corroboration experimentation because it has been made on the basis of some debatable assumptions about the rationale of scientific investigation. The rationale of theory-corroboration experimentation requires nothing more than a binary decision about the relation between two variables. This binary decision supplies the minor premise for the syllogism implicated when a theory is being tested. Some metatheoretical considerations reveal that the magnitude of the effect-size estimate is not a satisfactory alternative to the significance test.'
altloc:
  - http://uregina.ca/~chowsl/pub_papers/SIGTEST.htm
chapter: ~
commentary: ~
commref: ~
confdates: ~
conference: ~
confloc: ~
contact_email: ~
creators_id: []
creators_name:
  - family: Chow
    given: Siu L.
    honourific: ''
    lineage: ''
date: 1988
date_type: published
datestamp: 1999-08-07
department: ~
dir: disk0/00/00/08/24
edit_lock_since: ~
edit_lock_until: ~
edit_lock_user: ~
editors_id: []
editors_name: []
eprint_status: archive
eprintid: 824
fileinfo: /style/images/fileicons/text_html.png;/824/1/SIGTEST.htm
full_text_status: public
importid: ~
institution: ~
isbn: ~
ispublished: pub
issn: ~
item_issues_comment: []
item_issues_count: 0
item_issues_description: []
item_issues_id: []
item_issues_reported_by: []
item_issues_resolved_by: []
item_issues_status: []
item_issues_timestamp: []
item_issues_type: []
keywords: 'statistical significance, effect size, statistical power, meta-analysis, modus tollens, the sample-size problem, theeffect-size problem, the substantive-significance problem, theory corroboration'
lastmod: 2011-03-11 08:54:18
latitude: ~
longitude: ~
metadata_visibility: show
note: ~
number: 1
pagerange: 105-110
pubdom: FALSE
publication: Psychological Bulletin
publisher: ~
refereed: TRUE
referencetext: ~
relation_type: []
relation_uri: []
reportno: ~
rev_number: 8
series: ~
source: ~
status_changed: 2007-09-12 16:34:51
subjects:
  - cog-psy
  - phil-sci
succeeds: ~
suggestions: ~
sword_depositor: ~
sword_slug: ~
thesistype: ~
title: Significance Test or Effect Size?
type: journalp
userid: 141
volume: 103
<script src="//archive-bar.soton.ac.uk/archive-bar.js"></script>