Biologists rely too much on NHST whereas there are good alternatives

OSF Preprints (OSF Preprints) 2026 Preprint

Authors: Age K. Smilde, Henk A. L. Kiers, Harro J. Bouwmeester
Cited by: 0

Abstract

• Null hypothesis significance testing has serious shortcomings • Null hypothesis significance testing is still the dominant statistical procedure in biological data analysis • Remedies exist, but not all really solve the problem • Focus on biological relevance is needed • A simple alternative that assesses probabilities of biologically relevant effect sizes is introduced

Fields of Study & Subjects

Statistical Methods and Bayesian Inference Probability and Statistical Research Meta-analysis and systematic reviews

Publication details

Journal / source
OSF Preprints (OSF Preprints)
Publication date
5 February 2026
Document type
Preprint