This short YouTube video (5:26) presents the statistical concept of effect size and distinguishes it from the related concept of statistical significance.
Type of Material:
Presentation (YouTube video)
Recommended Uses:
This material would be most applicable as a supplement to a textbook chapter or lecture, to be watched on the student's own time outside of class. Specifically, this video can be watched after a class presentation on the topic or assigned before building on the subject of statistical significance.
Technical Requirements:
None. (It's a YouTube video, and any platform that can play YouTube videos should suffice.)
Identify Major Learning Goals:
Students will understand that there is more to results than p values and statistical significance.
Students will be able to 1) explain the concept of effect size, 2) identify differences between statistical and practical significance, and 3) provide an example of a statistically significant but practically insignificant effect.
Target Student Population:
College Lower Division, College Upper Division
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:
It is helpful to have a basic understanding of statistical significance. The video briefly mentions statistical significance and p-values but does not elaborate on them. Students who are unfamiliar with these concepts might find the video confusing. Instructors will want to assign this material to students after having sufficiently covered statistical significance and p-values in class or with other material.
Content Quality
Rating:
Strengths:
The video presents a clear overview of effect size, including practical vs. statistical significance.
The presented information is factually correct.
The explanation is pitched at a basic level with an easy-to-understand example (flipping a coin).
Concerns:
The explanation would have been even more effective had there been more examples, preferably some related to psychology (such as experimental treatment effects).
Although the video bills itself as describing both practical significance and statistical significance, only the former is explained; the latter is alluded to but might confuse someone unfamiliar with the concepts of statistical significance or p-values.
Instructors who embed the video in the context of a larger, more comprehensive lecture, reading, or assignment can provide additional examples and explanatory background.
Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool
Rating:
Strengths:
The video is effective as an overview of these topics.
This is a self-contained video explaining the concepts of effect size and practical significance. While not designed specifically as a teaching tool, it is modular enough to be easily integrated into a course.
Concerns:
To more comprehensively address statistical significance and p-values, the video would need to be paired with some supplemental material or instruction explaining those concepts for it to have maximal impact.
Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty
Rating:
Strengths:
The YouTube video should play on any brower or the YouTube app.
YouTube is used universally enough that no student should have difficulty getting this video to play. The auto-generated captions appear accurate enough for the video to be accessible to the hearing impaired.
Concerns:
The video consists almost entirely of unadorned narration to the camera and does not contain PowerPoint-style (or other) visuals to exemplify or illustrate what is being narrated. Visual illustration would have been particularly helpful near the more jargon-laden end of the video. As noted in the sections above, instructors will want to augment the video with additional explanation and illustration(s).
Creative Commons:
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