A researcher reports that results of a study were not statistically significant. How is this to be interpreted?
a. Intervention was not strong enough to make a difference.
b. Researcher does not have enough evidence to reject the null hypothesis.
c. Researcher's logic or conceptualization in setting up the study was faulty.
d. Topic is of no further interest to nurse researchers or clinicians.
ANS: B
If the results of the study are not statistically significant, the researcher was unable to show there was a mathematical difference between the groups. The null hypothesis, which states there is no difference between groups, would therefore be supported. The null hypothesis cannot be rejected in this case.
Although it may be true that the intervention was not strong enough to make a difference, it does not relate to the statistical significance.
It may be true that the researcher's logic or conceptualization in setting up the study was faulty, but cannot be read into the statement regarding statistical significance.
The topic may still be a very worthwhile area of study. The lack of statistically significant results does not mean that the topic is not a clinically significant topic.
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