Comparisons of continuous and discrete methods for combining probability values associated with matched-pairs t-test data

Paul W Mielke Jr; Kenneth J Berry; Janis E Johnston

doi:10.2466/pms.100.3.799-805

Comparisons of continuous and discrete methods for combining probability values associated with matched-pairs t-test data

Percept Mot Skills. 2005 Jun;100(3 Pt 1):799-805. doi: 10.2466/pms.100.3.799-805.

Authors

Paul W Mielke Jr¹, Kenneth J Berry, Janis E Johnston

Affiliation

¹ Department of Statistics, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1877, USA. mielke@lamar.colostate.edu

PMID: 16060446
DOI: 10.2466/pms.100.3.799-805

Abstract

Fisher's well-known continuous method for combining independent probability values from continuous distributions is compared with an exact discrete analog of Fisher's continuous method for combining independent probability values from discrete distributions using matched-pairs t-test data. Fisher's continuous method is shown to be inadequate for combining probability values from many discrete distributions, given the continuity assumption when discrete distributions are considered. Although Fisher's continuous method does not detect a well-documented effect among distributions, the exact discrete analog method clearly detects the effect.

MeSH terms

Algorithms
Data Interpretation, Statistical
Models, Statistical*
Probability*
Statistical Distributions
Statistics as Topic / methods