how-to · evidence-based answer
How do I interpret effect sizes in HR or organizational research?
The short answer
Statistical significance is not practical significance. A 'significant' result can be trivially small; ask for the effect size — Cohen's d, a correlation, percent of variance explained — and translate it into the real-world outcome before adopting an intervention. p < .05 says something is there, not that it matters.
The problem underneath
Statistical significance is not practical significance; HR practitioners routinely misinterpret p-values as effect sizes, leading to adoption of interventions with negligible real-world impact on organizational outcomes.
The evidence
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- Effect-size / validity findings
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Go deeper
Related questions
- What does a Cohen's d of 0.3 mean for an HR decision?
- How to evaluate whether an organizational research finding is practically significant
effect sizespractical significanceCohen's dresearch interpretationevidence-based HRorganizational research