Repository logo
 

Non-Standard Errors


Type

Working Paper

Change log

Authors

Menkveld, A. 
Dreber, A. 
Holzmeister, F. 
Huber, J. 
Johannesson, M. 

Abstract

In statistics, samples are drawn from a population in a data generating process (DGP). Standard errors measure the uncertainty in sample estimates of population parameters. In science, evidence is generated to test hypotheses in an evidence generating process (EGP). We claim that EGP variation across researchers adds uncertainty: non-standard errors. To study them, we let 164 teams test six hypotheses on the same sample. We find that non-standard errors are sizeable, on par with standard errors. Their size (i) co-varies only weakly with team merits, reproducibility, or peer rating, (ii) declines significantly after peer-feedback, and (iii) is underestimated by participants.

Online appendix available at https://bit.ly/3DIQKrB.

Please note a full list of authors is available in the working paper.

Description

Keywords

Market Efficiency, P-hacking, Publication bias

Is Part Of

Publisher

Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge

Publisher DOI

Publisher URL