Hypothesis Testing in the Real World

Critics of null hypothesis significance testing suggest that (a) its basic logic is invalid and (b) it addresses a question that is of no interest. In contrast to (a), I argue that the underlying logic of hypothesis testing is actually extremely straightforward and compelling. To substantiate that, I present examples showing that hypothesis testing logic is routinely used in everyday life. These same examples also refute (b) by showing circumstances in which the logic of hypothesis testing addresses a question of prime interest. Null hypothesis significance testing may sometimes be misunderstood or misapplied, but these problems should be addressed by improved education.