February, 2003
© 2000, 2001, 2003 Scott S. Emerson, M.D., Ph.D.
Session 1- Fixed Sample Design: 68
Hierarchy of Statistical Questions
It is necessary to refine the (usually vaguely stated) scientific hypotheses into a form that lends itself to statistical analysis
It is useful to consider the hierarchy of refinements to the scientific question that are necessary to obtain a statistical hypothesis
·Deterministic: Does it work?
·Probability model: What proportion of the time does it work?
·Bayesian: What is the probability that it works most the time?
·Frequentist: If it didn’t work most the time, would we see data like this?