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Addendum to the article: Misuse of null hypothesis significance testing: Would estimation of positive and negative predictive values improve certainty of chemical risk assessment?

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Abstract

We argued recently that the positive predictive value (PPV) and the negative predictive value (NPV) are valuable metrics to include during null hypothesis significance testing: They inform the researcher about the probability of statistically significant and non-significant test outcomes actually being true. Although commonly misunderstood, a reported p value estimates only the probability of obtaining the results or more extreme results if the null hypothesis of no effect was true. Calculations of the more informative PPV and NPV require a priori estimate of the probability (R). The present document discusses challenges of estimating R.

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References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Environmental Sciences, University of Koblenz-Landau, Fortstrasse 7, D–76829, Landau, Germany

    Mirco Bundschuh, Jochen P. Zubrod, Frank Seitz, Ricki R. Rosenfeldt & Ralf Schulz

  2. Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden

    Mirco Bundschuh

  3. Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA, USA

    Michael C. Newman

Authors
  1. Mirco Bundschuh
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  2. Michael C. Newman
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  3. Jochen P. Zubrod
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  4. Frank Seitz
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  5. Ricki R. Rosenfeldt
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  6. Ralf Schulz
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mirco Bundschuh.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

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Bundschuh, M., Newman, M.C., Zubrod, J.P. et al. Addendum to the article: Misuse of null hypothesis significance testing: Would estimation of positive and negative predictive values improve certainty of chemical risk assessment?. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22, 3955–3957 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3749-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3749-z

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