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Ranald Macdonald and statistical inference
Author(s) -
Smith Philip T.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
british journal of mathematical and statistical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.157
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 2044-8317
pISSN - 0007-1102
DOI - 10.1348/000711009x426154
Subject(s) - statistical inference , statistical hypothesis testing , inference , section (typography) , significance testing , epistemology , action (physics) , psychology , mathematics , statistics , computer science , philosophy , physics , quantum mechanics , operating system
Ranald Roderick Macdonald (1945–2007) was an important contributor to mathematical psychology in the UK, as a referee and action editor for British Journal of Mathematical and Statistical Psychology and as a participant and organizer at the British Psychological Society's Mathematics, statistics and computing section meetings. This appreciation argues that his most important contribution was to the foundations of significance testing, where his concern about what information was relevant in interpreting the results of significance tests led him to be a persuasive advocate for the ‘Weak Fisherian’ form of hypothesis testing.