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bioRxiv · 10.1101/328567

A tail of two sides: Artificially doubled false positive rates in neuroimaging due to the sidedness choice with t-tests

Chen, G.·Cox, R. W.·Glen, D. R.·Rajendra, J. K.·Reynolds, R. C.·Taylor, P. A.
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Abstract

One-sided t-tests are widely used in neuroimaging data analysis. While such a test may be applicable when investigating specific regions and prior information about directionality is present, we argue here that it is often mis-applied, with severe consequences for false positive rate (FPR) control. Conceptually, a pair of one-sided t-tests conducted in tandem (e.g., to test separately for both positive and negative effects), effectively amounts to a two-sided t-test. However, replacing the two-sided test with a pair of one-sided tests without multiple comparisons correction essentially doubles the intended FPR of statements made about the same study; that is, the actual family-wise error (FWE) of results at the whole brain level would be 10% instead of the 5% intended by the researcher. Therefore, we strongly recommend that, unless otherwise explicitly justified, two-sided t-tests be applied instead of two simultaneous one-sided t-tests.

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Chen, G., Cox, R. W., Glen, D. R., Rajendra, J. K., Reynolds, R. C., Taylor, P. A.. 2018-05-23. A tail of two sides: Artificially doubled false positive rates in neuroimaging due to the sidedness choice with t-tests. https://doi.org/10.1101/328567

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