Is two-tailed testing for directional research hypotheses tests legitimate?
指出当前在定向研究假设检验中普遍误用双尾检验,分析了其看似保守实则错误的观念,并基于研究假设与统计假设的关系提出新的假设分类方案,以规范实证研究中的统计检验使用。
This paper demonstrates that there is currently a widespread misuse of two-tailed testing for directional research hypotheses tests. One probable reason for this overuse of two-tailed testing is the seemingly valid beliefs that two-tailed testing is more conservative and safer than one-tailed testing. However, the authors examine the legitimacy of this notion and find it to be flawed. A second and more fundamental cause of the current problem is the pervasive oversight in making a clear distinction between the research hypothesis and the statistical hypothesis. Based upon the explicated, sound relationship between the research and statistical hypotheses, the authors propose a new scheme of hypothesis classification to facilitate and clarify the proper use of statistical hypothesis testing in empirical research.