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P-value

In Statistics, the researcher checks the signi0cance of

the observed result, which is known as test static. For
this test, a hypothesis test is also utilized. The P-value or
probability value concept is used everywhere in
statistical analysis. It determines the statistical
signi0cance and the measure of signi0cance testing. In
this article, let us discuss its de0nition, formula, table,
interpretation and how to use P-value to 0nd the
signi0cance level etc. in detail.

Table of Contents:

P-value De0nition
Table
Formula
Example
FAQs

P-value De5nition
The P-value is known as the probability value. It is
de0ned as the probability of getting a result that is either
the same or more extreme than the actual observations.
The P-value is known as the level of marginal
signi0cance within the hypothesis testing that represents
the probability of occurrence of the given event. The P-
value is used as an alternative to the rejection point to
provide the least signi0cance at which the null
hypothesis would be rejected. If the P-value is small, then
there is stronger evidence in favour of the alternative
hypothesis.

P-value Table
The P-value table shows the hypothesis interpretations:

P-
valu Decision
e

P-
valu
The result is not statistically signi0cant and
e>
hence don’t reject the null hypothesis.
0.0
5

P-
valu The result is statistically signi0cant. Generally,
e< reject the null hypothesis in favour of the
0.0 alternative hypothesis.
5

P-
valu The result is highly statistically signi0cant, and
e< thus rejects the null hypothesis in favour of the
0.0 alternative hypothesis.
1

Generally, the level of statistical signi0cance is often

expressed in p-value and the range between 0 and 1. The
smaller the p-value, the stronger the evidence and hence,
the result should be statistically signi0cant. Hence, the
rejection of the null hypothesis is highly possible, as the
p-value becomes smaller.

Let us look at an example to better comprehend the

concept of P-value.

Let’s say a researcher Sips a coin ten times with the null
hypothesis that it is fair. The total number of heads is the
test statistic, which is two-tailed. Assume the researcher
notices alternating heads and tails on each Sip
(HTHTHTHTHT). As this is the predicted number of
heads, the test statistic is 5 and the p-value is 1 (totally
unexceptional).

Assume that the test statistic for this research was the
“number of alternations” (i.e., the number of times H
followed T or T followed H), which is two-tailed once
again. This would result in a test statistic of 9, which is
extremely high and has a p-value of 1/28 = 1/256, or
roughly 0.0039. This would be regarded as extremely
signi0cant, much beyond the 0.05 level. These 0ndings
suggest that the data set is exceedingly improbable to
have happened by random in terms of one test statistic,
yet they do not imply that the coin is biased towards
heads or tails.

The data have a high p-value according to the 0rst test

statistic, indicating that the number of heads observed is
not impossible. The data have a low p-value according to
the second test statistic, indicating that the pattern of
Sips observed is extremely unlikely. There is no
“alternative hypothesis,” (therefore only the null
hypothesis can be rejected), and such evidence could
have a variety of explanations – the data could be
falsi0ed, or the coin could have been Sipped by a
magician who purposefully swapped outcomes.

This example shows that the p-value is entirely

dependent on the test statistic used and that p-values
can only be used to reject a null hypothesis, not to
explore an alternate hypothesis.

P-value Formula
We Know that P-value is a statistical measure, that helps
to determine whether the hypothesis is correct or not. P-
value is a number that lies between 0 and 1. The level of
signi0cance(α) is a prede0ned threshold that should be
set by the researcher. It is generally 0xed as 0.05. The
formula for the calculation for P-value is

Step 1: Find out the test static Z is

p^−p0
z=
√ po(1−p0)
n

Where,

p^ = Sample Proportion
P0 = assumed population proportion in the null
hypothesis

N = sample size

Step 2: Look at the Z-table to 0nd the corresponding

level of P from the z value obtained.

T-Test Formula
Statistical Signi0cance Formula
Statistics
Statistics For Class 10
Statistics For Class 11

P-Value Example
An example to 0nd the P-value is given here.

Question: A statistician wants to test the hypothesis H0:

μ = 120 using the alternative hypothesis Hα: μ > 120 and
assuming that α = 0.05. For that, he took the sample
values as

n =40, σ = 32.17 and x̄ = 105.37. Determine the

conclusion for this hypothesis?

Solution:

We know that,

σx̄ = σ
√n
Now substitute the given values

32.17
σx̄ = √40
= 5.0865
Now, using the test static formula, we get

t = (105.37 – 120) / 5.0865

Therefore, t = -2.8762

Using the Z-Score table, we can 0nd the value of

P(t>-2.8762)

From the table, we get

P (t<-2.8762) = P(t>2.8762) = 0.003

Therefore,

If P(t>-2.8762) =1- 0.003 =0.997

P- value =0.997 > 0.05

Therefore, from the conclusion, if p>0.05, the null

hypothesis is accepted or fails to reject.

Hence, the conclusion is “fails to reject H0.”

Stay tuned with BYJU’S – The Learning App for related

concepts on P-value and examples and explore more
videos.

Frequently Asked Questions on

P-Value
Q1 What is meant by P-value?

The p-value is de0ned as the probability of

obtaining the result at least as extreme as
the observed result of a statistical
hypothesis test, assuming that the null
hypothesis is true.

Q2 What does a smaller P-value represent?

The smaller the p-value, the greater the

statistical signi0cance of the observed
difference, which results in the rejection of
the null hypothesis in favour of alternative
hypotheses.

Q3 What does the p-value greater than 0.05

represent?

If the p-value is greater than 0.05, then the

result is not statistically signi0cant.

Q4 Can the p-value be greater than 1?

P-value means probability value, which tells

you the probability of achieving the result
under a certain hypothesis. Since it is a
probability, its value ranges between 0 and 1,
and it cannot exceed 1.

Q5 What does the p-value less than 0.05

represent?

If the p-value is less than 0.05, then the result

is statistically signi0cant, and hence we can
reject the null hypothesis in favour of the
alternative hypothesis.

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