Introduction to Fisher (1925) Statistical Methods for Research Workers

R.A. Fisher had an abiding interest in inference, which came out in many of his writings. The inaugural meeting of the British Region of the Biometric Society was notable for his far-reaching presidential address (Fisher, 1948) in which he saw statistical science as doing for inference what mathematics had done for deduction. Among his contributions to the subject, the most influential has surely been the concept of significance, widely used from the time of its appearance. Although immensely valuable as an intellectual tool, its widespread and uncritical use has arguably been harmful as well as beneficial.