What is the typical alpha level threshold used to determine statistical significance?

• A. Less than 0.05
• B. Less than 0.01
• C. Less than 0.50
• D. Greater than 0.05

Answer: (A)

The typical alpha level is 0.05, meaning there is a 5% chance of incorrectly concluding there is an effect when there isn’t one (a false positive). This conventional cutoff strikes a balance between being too lenient and too strict, allowing researchers to declare findings statistically significant when p-values fall below this threshold. Values like 0.01 are more stringent and used in some contexts, while 0.50 would be far too permissive. A p-value below 0.05 is generally considered statistically significant.