Process / pipelinestudy-design

Statistical Power and Sample Size

Statistical power is the probability of detecting a true effect if it exists (1 − β). Power analysis determines the sample size required to detect a hypothesized effect size with specified Type I error (α) and Type II error (β) rates. Introduced by Jacob Cohen (1988), power analysis is foundational to research design: underpowered studies produce inflated effect size estimates and are unlikely to replicate. The standard benchmark is 80% power (β = 0.20), though critical studies may require 90% power.

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Sources

  1. Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences (2nd ed.). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. ISBN: 0-8058-0283-5
  2. Faul, F., Erdfelder, E., Lang, A.-G., & Buchner, A. (2007). G*Power 3: A Flexible Statistical Power Analysis Program for the Social, Behavioral, and Biomedical Sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 39(2), 175–191. DOI: 10.3758/BF03193146
  3. Button, K. S., Ioannidis, J. P. A., Mokrysz, C., Nosek, B. A., Flint, J., Robinson, E. S. J., & Munafò, M. R. (2013). Power failure: why small sample size undermines the reliability of neuroscience. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 14(5), 365–376. DOI: 10.1038/nrn3475

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Referenced by

ScholarGateStatistical Power and Sample Size (Statistical Power Analysis and Sample Size Determination for Research Studies). Retrieved 2026-06-04 from https://scholargate.app/en/research-statistics/statistical-power