| Title: |
Alphas, Betas and Skewy Distributions: Two Ways of Getting the Wrong Answer |
| Language: |
English |
| Authors: |
Fayers, Peter |
| Source: |
Advances in Health Sciences Education. Aug 2011 16(3):291-296. |
| Availability: |
Springer. 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-348-4505; e-mail: service-ny@springer.com; Web site: http://www.springerlink.com |
| Peer Reviewed: |
Y |
| Page Count: |
6 |
| Publication Date: |
2011 |
| Document Type: |
Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive |
| Descriptors: |
Statistical Analysis; Tests; Robustness (Statistics); Statistical Distributions; Error of Measurement; Statistics |
| DOI: |
10.1007/s10459-011-9283-6 |
| ISSN: |
1382-4996 |
| Abstract: |
Although many parametric statistical tests are considered to be robust, as recently shown in Methodologist's Corner, it still pays to be circumspect about the assumptions underlying statistical tests. In this paper I show that robustness mainly refers to "[alpha]", the type-I error. If the underlying distribution of data is ignored there can be a major penalty in terms of the "[beta]", the type-II error, representing a large increase in false negative rate or, equivalently, a severe loss of power of the test. (Contains 3 figures.) |
| Abstractor: |
As Provided |
| Number of References: |
2 |
| Entry Date: |
2011 |
| Accession Number: |
EJ932854 |
| Database: |
ERIC |