p-Hacking: Its Costs and When It Is Warranted.
p-Hacking, the use of analytic techniques that may lead to distorted research results, is widely condemned on epistemic and practical grounds. The prevalent position on this questionable research practice is that p-hacking should be avoided because it raises the probability of obtaining false-positi...
| Publicado en: | Erkenntnis Vol. 90; no. 7; pp. 2929 - 2951 |
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| Formato: | Artículo |
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Springer Nature
Oct2025
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hlh&AN=187864051&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: hlh uiTerm: 187864051 longDbName: Humanities International Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 01650106 5KZ jtl: Erkenntnis issn: 01650106 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Oct2025 vid: 90 iid: 7 pid: 237 pub: Springer Nature artinfo: ui: 187864051 10.1007/s10670-024-00834-3 ppf: 2929 ppct: 22 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: P size: 974KB tig: atl: p-Hacking: Its Costs and When It Is Warranted. aug: au: Erasmus, Adrian affil: https://ror.org/03xrrjk67 Department of Philosophy, University of Alabama, 336 Ten Hoor Hall, 350 Marrs Spring Rd., 35401, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA https://ror.org/01v29qb04 Centre for Philosophy of Epidemiology, Medicine and Public Health, Durham University, Durham, UK https://ror.org/04z6c2n17 Department of Philosophy, University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park, South Africa su: False positive error Decision theory Research ethics Cost effectiveness Empirical research sug: subj: False positive error Decision theory Research ethics Cost effectiveness Empirical research keyword: Inductive risk p-hacking Research error ab: p-Hacking, the use of analytic techniques that may lead to distorted research results, is widely condemned on epistemic and practical grounds. The prevalent position on this questionable research practice is that p-hacking should be avoided because it raises the probability of obtaining false-positive results, which can have harmful practical consequences. I have three aims in this paper. First, I offer a precise definition of p-hacking, something sorely needed in discussions of the practice. Second, I use philosophical tools from decision theory to articulate the prevalent position on p-hacking and demonstrate its flaws. While p-hacking can have epistemic and practical costs, a more nuanced approach to its consequences is necessary. Third, I argue that there are scenarios in which p-hacking can be warranted. The prevalent position neglects key factors in its overall evaluation of the consequences of p-hacking. Moreover, it disregards considerations that can lend support to decisions about analytic choices that amount to p-hacking. One important, but often neglected consideration is that, while p-hacking may lead to more false-positives, it also increases the chances of uncovering true-positives. I appeal to non-epistemic judgments to defend the view that there are situations in which p-hacking may be warranted. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: Y custom: Erkenntnis is a copyright of Springer, 2025. All Rights Reserved. item: Erkenntnis holder: Springer Nature dt: @attributes: year: 2025 holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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