Statistical significance: not the same as importance

That distinction is useful when an ADHD headline uses “significant” as though it simply means “a big, useful change.” We want to find out which meaning the writer intends.

Separate the report's labels

Imagine an invented summary comparing two ways of displaying directions for a craft activity. It calls a result statistically significant but gives neither the reported difference nor the units in the headline.

Mina highlights the word and writes two questions: “Significant according to what analysis?” and “How large was the difference?” The headline does not answer either. Her partner asks a third: “Was the measured task anything like the activity we care about?”

These are separate questions. Even a fully reported statistical test would not, by itself, answer the partner's question about a different setting. The example provides no study data and should not be read as evidence that one type of instruction works better.

A p-value is not a truth percentage

The ASA also cautions that p-values do not give the probability that a hypothesis is true or the probability that the data arose from chance alone. [1]

If a post turns a p-value into a percentage certainty that an explanation is correct, keep the original number and the writer's interpretation in separate notes. The mismatch is a reason to consult the analysis, not an invitation to invent a replacement percentage.

For a first reading, it is reasonable to write “I cannot interpret this result from the screenshot.” That is a completed observation about the material available, not a failure to understand the entire field.

An optional headline check

Beside one headline, leave space for:

• Exact statement using “significant.”
• Actual outcome and measurement units.
• Reported magnitude and uncertainty.
• Analysis named in the paper.
• Limits the authors describe.
• What the headline added or omitted.

You can stop after one unresolved field. No family member needs to calculate a test or defend a preferred conclusion during an ordinary conversation.

Perspectives without a debate contest

An adult may be deciding which question to bring to a professional discussion. A parent may want to know whether the studied ages match their concern. A teen may simply ask why “important” and “statistically significant” were treated as interchangeable. A grandparent can contribute by locating the full report rather than collecting more headlines.

This page explains a reading distinction. It does not assess a therapy, provide statistical consultancy or determine which explanation is correct. We keep practical importance, study quality and applicability visible as questions that a single statistical label cannot finish.

Source

[1] American Statistical Association. American Statistical Association Releases Statement on Statistical Significance and P-Values. American Statistical Association. Dated March 7, 2016 on the announcement. This is the announcement reproducing six principles, not a claim to have read the separate journal statement. Accessed September 6, 2026. Complete three-page announcement and six reproduced principles. Supports the adjacent attributed claims. All illustrative scenes, numbers and optional note formats are original inventions, not source findings.

Related guides

• effect size
• confidence interval
• hypothesis
• generalizability