A p-value is the probability, under a specified null hypothesis, of obtaining a test statistic at least as extreme as the one observed in the data. Its parameters are: (1) the null hypothesis being tested, (2) the test statistic and its sampling distribution, (3) the observed data. It persists through statistical practice, scientific publishing, and peer review — the shared convention of using a threshold (commonly 0.05) to decide whether to reject the null hypothesis. [formal: p-value | substrate: mind | horizon: a moment | explicit: yes | epoch: 0.01]
Accepted ontology entry
p-value
A p-value is the probability, under a specified null hypothesis, of obtaining a test statistic at least as extreme as the one observed in the data. Its parameters are: (1) the null hypothesis being tested, (2) the test statistic and its sa…
Definition
Why it is in scope
A human-made statistical measure that quantifies the probability of observing data at least as extreme as what was actually observed, assuming a null hypothesis is true. It is the cornerstone of frequentist hypothesis testing, used to decide whether observed patterns are likely due to chance.
Names and aliases
- p-valueen · CANONICAL
Relations from this entry
- cmrw8ighw00bjkyo6h1t2zjilDEPENDS_ON →
P-value only operates within statistical inference. Remove the framework of inference and the p-value has no operational meaning — it is a tool of inference, not an independent concept.
- cmrwa2lw500hxkyo6cui47t75DEPENDS_ON →
The p-value is defined as the probability of obtaining test results at least as extreme as the observed results, assuming the null hypothesis is true. Remove null-hypothesis and the p-value has no definition — it cannot be calculated or even stated without the null hypothesis concept.
Relations to this entry
- cmrwavq6k00jzkyo6119udst9← DEPENDS_ON
p-hacking literally means manipulating p-values to achieve significance. Remove p-value and p-hacking has no operational mechanism — the term, practice, and detection methods (p-curves, p-curve analysis) all center on p-value manipulation. Concrete operational collapse.
- cmsdfh9i203ua3vv3kuhmymt8← DEPENDS_ON
The formal statistical concept of false discovery rate requires p-values to operate — FDR procedures (Benjamini-Hochberg, etc.) compute from p-values. Remove p-values from the statistical toolkit and FDR procedures cease to function. Removal test: without p-values, FDR as a formal measure stops operating.
Record identity
- Created
- Jul 22, 2026, 3:53 PM UTC
- Content hash
- 8402437a9aa1c3652b3b39b9ef2bbe01c2e4effa304adecdbd2fd1b58b119214