practical significance
Practical significance refers to the real-world or practical importance of the results of a study or
experiment. It refers to the extent to which the findings of a study have meaningful and useful
implications for individuals or society as a whole.
In contrast to statistical significance, which refers to the probability that the observed results are
not due to chance, practical significance is concerned with the meaningfulness or usefulness of
the results in the context of the real world.
For example, a study may find a statistically significant difference between two groups on a
particular measure, but this difference may be too small to have practical significance.
Conversely, a small but meaningful difference between groups may not be statistically
significant due to the small sample size or other factors.
Practical significance is particularly important in fields such as healthcare, education, and social
policy, where research findings can have significant practical implications for individuals and
society. It is important for researchers to consider both statistical significance and practical
significance when interpreting the results of their studies and communicating their findings to
others.
Overall, practical significance is an important concept in research, as it helps to ensure that
research findings have real-world relevance and usefulness, and can inform decision-making
and policy development.