The method that can "prove" almost anything - James A. Smith
835,303 Views
3,374 Questions Answered
TEDEd Animation
Let’s Begin…
In 2011, a group of researchers conducted a study designed to find an impossible result. Their study involved real people, truthfully reported data, and commonplace statistical analyses. So how did they do it? The answer lies in a statistical method scientists often use to try to figure out whether their results mean something, or if they’re random noise. James A. Smith explores p-hacking.
If researchers use a p-value of 0.05 to reject a null hypothesis, then 1 out of 20 times when the null hypothesis is true, it will be rejected when it shouldn’t be. Do you think this is a high enough standard for scientific evidence? Is it lower, higher, or about what you expected?
Sign in to answer questionAbout TED-Ed Animations
TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »
Meet The Creators
- Educator James A. Smith
- Director Anton Bogaty
- Narrator Addison Anderson
- Music Salil Bhayani, cAMP Studio
- Sound Designer Amanda P.H. Bennett
- Director of Production Gerta Xhelo
- Editorial Director Alex Rosenthal
- Producer Bethany Cutmore-Scott
- Editorial Producer Elizabeth Cox
- Fact-Checker Jennifer Nam
