TY - JOUR T1 - Misinterpretations of the ‘p value’: a brief primer for academic sports medicine JF - British Journal of Sports Medicine JO - Br J Sports Med SP - 1176 LP - 1177 DO - 10.1136/bjsports-2016-097072 VL - 51 IS - 16 AU - Steven D Stovitz AU - Evert Verhagen AU - Ian Shrier Y1 - 2017/08/01 UR - http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/51/16/1176.abstract N2 - When comparing treatment groups, the p value is a statistical measure that summarises the chance (‘p’ for probability) that one would obtain the observed result (or more extreme), if and only if, the treatment is ineffective (ie, under the assumption of the ‘null’ hypothesis). The p value does not tell us the probability that the null hypothesis is true.1 This editorial discusses how some common misinterpretations of the p value may impact sports medicine research. Although presented from a treatment standpoint, the same principles hold for causes or prevention.p Values are probabilities, yet often interpreted based on a categorical cut-off, generally at the level of 0.05 (ie, 5%). Anything below is considered a ‘statistically significant difference’ and vice versa. However, one would not change a decision to buy a lottery ticket if the chance of winning was 4.9% (p=0.049i) instead of 5.1% (p=0.051). Consider a study where 100 participants who were given an injury prevention programme had six injuries, and 100 participants … ER -