pThe P value is defined as the probability under the assumption of no effect or no difference (null hypothesis), of obtaining a result equal to or more extreme than what was actually observed. The P stands for probability and measures how likely it is that any observed difference between groups is due to chance.
Thus, it is common in medical journals to see adjectives such as “highly significant” or “very significant” after quoting the P value depending on how close to zero the value is.(Source) The p-value is widely used in statistical hypothesis testing, specifically in null hypothesis significance testing. In this method, before conducting the study, one first chooses a model (the null hypothesis) and the alpha level α (most commonly 0.05). After analyzing the data, if the p-value is less than α, that is taken to mean that the observed data is sufficiently inconsistent with the null hypothesis for the null hypothesis to be rejected. However, that does not prove that the null hypothesis is false. The p-value does not, in itself, establish probabilities of hypotheses. Rather, it is a tool for deciding whether to reject the null hypothesis. (Source) |
ParameterA description of the characteristics of a Population. |
Participant ObservationA technique in Qualitative Research where the researcher not only observes a particular natural setting, but gets involved in that setting to some degree. |
ParticipantsThe currently accepted term for describing people who are involved in a study. It replaces the older term Subjects. |
Participatory Research DesignA type of Qualitative Research where the researcher is actually involved in the research process, usually seeking to improve matters or conditions. |
Path AnalysisA specialized form of model building in Quantitative Research, where relations among Variables are lined up along some kind of meaningful time framework. |
PatternsSystematic and meaningful groupings of Data, most often found in Qualitative Research. |
Peer ReviewA process used in journals that publish Primary Articles where a submitted article is sent to two or more experts in the field for a blind evaluation (where the reviewers do not know the names of the researchers who wrote the article). Note: the following content is directly quoted from the University Library Guides offered by the University Library at Jönköping University Within academia it is common practice to inspect texts before publication, from student essays to scholarly journal articles. This review process differs based on the type of text and publication. The most comprehensive and esteemed version of review is called peer review. Peer review is used by journals that are known as academic, scholarly or scientific. These journals have a board of referees (or reviewers) who are experts and experienced researchers within their respective field. They evaluate the quality of the submitted articles based on scientific rigor, content and language. Together with the journal editor, they also judge whether the article fits within the subject area of the journal. The result of the review determines if the article is accepted for publication, if the authors are encouraged to revise the text or if the article is rejected. Publishing articles according to the peer review procedure is required for a journal to be considered scientific. In order to avoid bias, the author and referee of the article are blinded to one another, i.e. their identity is kept anonymous. Journals with a peer review system may include either refereed articles exclusively or a mix of refereed and non-refereed articles. Non-refereed articles might include book reviews, debate articles or commentaries. |
perspectivePerspective refers to: a particular attitude towards or way of regarding something; a point of view. Researcher Perspective refers to the viewpoint of a particular stakeholder in the relevant domain, which is adopted by the researcher as the viewpoint from which to observe phenomena during the conduct of a research project. That description implicitly assumes that researchers always adopt just a single perspective. (Source) |
PhenomenologyA branch of philosophy that says our perceptions and our thoughts about things we experience are intermingled. In Qualitative Research, Phenomenological methods look at our opinions and awareness of phenomena. |