American Board of Surgery Qualifying Exam (ABS QE) Practice Test

What term describes the error of failing to reject a false null hypothesis?

1. Type 1 error

2. Type 2 error

3. Type 3 error

4. Type 4 error

The correct answer is: Type 2 error

The term that describes the error of failing to reject a false null hypothesis is a Type 2 error. In statistical hypothesis testing, the null hypothesis often asserts that there is no effect or no difference between groups. When researchers conduct a test, they may conclude that there is not enough evidence to reject the null hypothesis even when it is, in reality, false. This situation results in a Type 2 error, also known as a false negative. Understanding the implications of a Type 2 error is crucial in research, especially in clinical trials where failing to detect an actual effect can have significant consequences for patient care and treatment decisions. It emphasizes the importance of having adequate power in a study, which helps minimize the risk of such errors. In contrast, the other options describe different types of errors: a Type 1 error occurs when a true null hypothesis is incorrectly rejected, while Type 3 and Type 4 errors are less commonly defined in standard statistical terminology and do not refer specifically to the relationship of accepting false hypotheses.