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It comes from the fact that soft sciences deal with vast numbers of variables, far too many to control. They actually get a ton of statistics, trying to find a
by jfengel 2y ago
It comes from the fact that soft sciences deal with vast numbers of variables, far too many to control. They actually get a ton of statistics, trying to find a signal in so much noise.
It would be great if human beings were more amenable to rigorous experiment. Failing that, we at least need to understand what these things do and don't actually mean. It's either that or give up trying to study people entirely.
- reedf1 2y agoStatistics are not values you collect - but the analysis you perform. In data with many confounding variables or many degrees of freedom, the only way to be honest about what the data shows is through statistics. Statistics is what allows you to filter signal from noise. Statistical significance is a very useful tool, you just have to be honest about what it represents and under what conditions this breaks down.
- tgv 2y agoA statistic is an aggregate number, not an analysis in its own. There may be some linguistic confusion here. > Statistical significance is a very useful tool What for? It answers a question in which nobody is interested. What can it do that Bayesian tools can't?