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Principles: when there should be no difference--how to fail to reject the null hypothesis
1Department of Pharmacology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia. michaell@unimelb.edu.au
Abstract:
It is common to perform experiments in which a 'success' is claimed when the null hypothesis is discarded. However, there is a category of experiment that has become important in which a success is when the null hypothesis is not rejected. Failing to discard the null hypothesis is different from proving it to be valid, a distinction that is particularly important in experiments in which any inadequacy of experimental design or implementation enhances the likelihood of a success. The appropriate analysis of such experiments tests for evidence of the validity of the null hypothesis rather than simply failing to find evidence against it.
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