TY - JOUR
T1 - p-Values should not be used for evaluating the strength of DNA evidence
AU - Meester, Ronald
AU - Slooten, K
AU - Kruijver, Maarten
N1 - PT: J; NR: 38; TC: 2; J9: FORENSIC SCI INT-GEN; PG: 6; GA: CE6MZ; UT: WOS:000351952700035
PY - 2015/5
Y1 - 2015/5
N2 - Recently, p-values have been suggested to explain the strength of a likelihood ratio that evaluates DNA evidence. It has been argued that likelihood ratios would be difficult to explain in court and that p-values would offer an alternative that is easily explained. In this article, we argue that p-values should not be used in this context. p-Values do not directly relate to the strength of the evidence. The likelihood ratio measures the strength of the evidence, while the p-value measures how rare it is to find evidence that is equally strong or stronger, which is something fundamentally different. In addition, a p-value is not always unambiguous. To illustrate our arguments, we present several examples from forensic genetics.
AB - Recently, p-values have been suggested to explain the strength of a likelihood ratio that evaluates DNA evidence. It has been argued that likelihood ratios would be difficult to explain in court and that p-values would offer an alternative that is easily explained. In this article, we argue that p-values should not be used in this context. p-Values do not directly relate to the strength of the evidence. The likelihood ratio measures the strength of the evidence, while the p-value measures how rare it is to find evidence that is equally strong or stronger, which is something fundamentally different. In addition, a p-value is not always unambiguous. To illustrate our arguments, we present several examples from forensic genetics.
U2 - 10.1016/j.fsigen.2015.01.005
DO - 10.1016/j.fsigen.2015.01.005
M3 - Article
SN - 1872-4973
VL - 16
SP - 226
EP - 231
JO - Forensic Science International : Genetics
JF - Forensic Science International : Genetics
ER -