The Statistical Significance Revolution

JNCI Cancer Spectr. 2024 Apr 29:pkae035. doi: 10.1093/jncics/pkae035. Online ahead of print.

Abstract

Statistical significance has long relied on the criterion of p < 0.05. While it has generally functioned well, it has engendered some negative practices to circumvent this threshold and been criticized as too inflexible. We concur with the statisticians and methodologists who are currently arguing for more flexibility to the p-value and more reliance on the 95% confidence interval; this is likely to change future practice in data analysis and interpretation in oncology.