P-hacking: its costs and when it is warranted

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• Adrian Erasmus (Department of History and Philosophy of Science)
• Wednesday 10 February 2021, 13:00-14:30
• Zoom.

If you have a question about this talk, please contact Matt Farr.

P-hacking is a misuse of analytic techniques that may lead to exaggerated experimental results. While it is widely condemned, some have suggested that there are some contexts in which the practice may be warranted. I have three aims in this paper. First, I provide a sorely needed definition of p-hacking. Second, I use philosophical tools from decision theory to articulate the prevalent position on p-hacking and illustrate how serious its effects on statistical results can be. And third, I defend the view that there are scenarios in which p-hacking may be warranted, with a particular focus on non-epistemic judgements.

This talk is part of the CamPoS (Cambridge Philosophy of Science) seminar series.

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