A trainee data analyst for a large social media company, which has falling site usage, has just completed a study into factors that affect site users' satisfaction levels. However, he finds only one statistically significant factor, which he includes in his report but he deliberately, omits the other six non-significant findings. What is the term for what the data analyst has done?
A)p-hacking
B)HARKing
C)Meta analysis
D)Bayesian analysis

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

P-hacking refers to the practice of manipulating data or experimenting until nonsignificant results become significant. However, the scenario described is more accurately an example of omitting non-significant findings rather than manipulating data to achieve significance. The correct term for this practice is not provided among the options, which might involve terms like "cherry-picking" or "selective reporting." Nonetheless, given the options, none directly describe the act of omitting non-significant findings as described, but p-hacking is often associated with practices that could lead to biased or misleading statistical conclusions, which might be why it was chosen. However, it's important to clarify that the precise action described in the question does not match the definition of p-hacking.

A Trainee Data Analyst for a Large Social Media Company