Statistical significance
That some finding has ‘statistical significance’ is that at a given significance level, for example, 0.05, the finding is likely to have arisen by chance in only five cases out of one hundred, that is, the chances are small that a difference between two groups of subjects in an experiment is due to sampling error.
Significance level
The level of confidence that a difference or relationship of the same size or larger could have occurred by chance (expressed as a probability, for example, 0.05).
Sampling error
That two (or more) groups of subjects in an experiment differed in some important respect (other than the independent variable being studied) to the extent that any observed difference between the two groups is attributable to this extraneous systematic variation – that is, the subject groups differed from each other from the outset and it is this which is responsible for the outcome. (see: hidden variable)
(see also: statistic, statistical evidence, statistical analysis, Sample size error, sample bias, Margin of error)
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