Abstract
CONSIDERATIONS set out below suggest that unless we can justify certain assumptions, quantitative inferences based on the results of single small experiments may be misleading. Workers who claim they are only interested in clear-cut effects should consider carefully what they mean by this before the experiment starts. There is a danger that if a test gives a statistically significant result this will be regarded a posteriori, even if not a priori, as establishing an important effect.
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References
Pitman, E. J. G., J. Roy. Statist. Soc., Supp., 4, 119 (1937).
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SPRENT, P. Analysis of Small Experiments. Nature 187, 437–438 (1960). https://doi.org/10.1038/187437a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/187437a0
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