Michelle is conducting research for her dissertation on whether birth order has an influence on how well high-school students perform on standardized tests.She has hypothesized that firstborn will perform better on average and has a long list of control variables she will test to make her study more informative.When Michelle tests for the main association between birth order and test scores,she finds a statistically significant relationship,but it is very small in magnitude.Her adviser suggests that she choose a different topic because
A)the finding does not have practical significance.
B)standardized test scores are so skewed that studies of them lack statistical power.
C)the null hypothesis cannot be rejected with sufficient confidence.
D)the importance of birth order is so varied across families.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The finding, while statistically significant, is very small in magnitude, which means that it may not have practical significance. In other words, the small effect found may not be meaningful enough to make any important changes to educational practices or policies. Therefore, choosing a different topic could be a more useful approach for Michelle's dissertation research.

Michelle Is Conducting Research for Her Dissertation on Whether Birth