- Alpha value = significance level
- Alpha levels are related to confidence levels.
- Alpha level is obtained by subtracting the confidence level from 100%, e.g., 5%
- An alpha level of 5%:
- A small p (≤ 0.05), reject the null hypothesis. This is strong evidence that the null hypothesis is invalid. Accept the alternative hypothesis.
- A large p (> 0.05) means the alternate hypothesis is weak, so you do not reject the null. Accept the null hypothesis.
If there is no alpha level, the following can be used to interpret the null hypothesis:
- If p > .10 → “not significant”
- If p ≤ .10 → “marginally significant”
- If p ≤ .05 → “significant”
- If p ≤ .01 → “highly significant”
References
Statistics How To. (n.d.). P-Value in Statistical Hypothesis Tests: What is it? Retrieved from https://www.statisticshowto.com/probability-and-statistics/statistics-definitions/p-value/