Statistical witchhunts: Science, justice & the p-value crisis
Spencer Wheatley, Didier Sornette
TL;DR
This paper explores the replication crisis in statistical science by examining harmful practices akin to witch-hunts, especially focusing on the problematic use and interpretation of p-values in scientific research and justice.
Contribution
It offers an accessible analysis of the replication crisis, framing it as a harmful statistical witch-hunt and diagnosing issues with p-value misuse in science and justice.
Findings
Identifies harmful statistical practices in science and justice.
Diagnoses the role of p-value misuse in the replication crisis.
Provides insights into the metaphor of court trials as hypothesis tests.
Abstract
We provide accessible insight into the current 'replication crisis' in 'statistical science', by revisiting the old metaphor of 'court trial as hypothesis test'. Inter alia, we define and diagnose harmful statistical witch-hunting both in justice and science, which extends to the replication crisis itself, where a hunt on p-values is currently underway.
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Taxonomy
TopicsData Analysis with R · Philosophy and History of Science · Computational and Text Analysis Methods