Abstract

The p value as an index of "important", "meaningful", and "scientific" results has long been used in empirical studies. This study suggested the need of reporting measures of association strength in addition to statistical significance(p value) in order to enhance understanding of study results. Different measures of association strength and their relations to each other were presented using a hypothetical example. The twenty-one articles using ANOVA in three refereed journals(Journal of Applied Psychology, Personnel Psychology, and Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes) published in 1988 and 1989 were reviewed to examine the number of articles reporting measures of association strength in addition to statistical significance. In these articles, the fashion of reporting and interpreting results was also examined. It was found that eleven articles among them did not report the measures of association strength and still interpreted the results by only the p value. Continued heavy reliance on the p value, the misinterpretation of the p value, the need of reporting the measures of association strength in the future studies, and the need of considering practical importance of study result were discussed.