1. Statistical significance is found in a study, but the effect in reality is very small (i.e., there was a very minor difference in attitude between men and women). Were the results meaningful?

Scenario

An independent samples t-test was conducted to determine whether differences exist between men and women on cultural competency scores. The samples consisted of 663 women and 650 men taken from a convenience sample of public, private, and non-profit organizations. Each participant was administered an instrument that measured his or her current levels of cultural competency. The cultural competency score ranges from 0 to 10, with higher scores indicating higher levels of cultural competency. The descriptive statistics indicate women have higher levels of cultural competency (M = 9.2, SD = 3.2) than men (M = 8.9, SD = 2.1). The results were significant t (1311) = 2.0, p <.05, indicating that women are more culturally competent than men. These results tell us that gender-specific interventions targeted toward men may assist in bolstering cultural competency.

2. A study has results that seem fine, but there is no clear association to social change. What is missing?

Scenario

A correlation test was conducted to determine whether a relationship exists between the level of income and job satisfaction. The sample consisted of 432 employees equally represented across public, private, and non-profit sectors. The results of the test demonstrate a strong positive correlation between the two variables, r =.87, p < .01, showing that as the level of income increases, job satisfaction increases as well.