Defining-Effect-Sizes.qmd

# Defining Effect Sizes

Effect sizes quantify the magnitude of effects (i.e., strength of a relationship, size of a difference), which are the outcomes of our empirical research. Effect sizes are by no means a new concept. However, reporting them remained largely optional for many years, and only until recently does it become a community standard: scientists now see reporting effect sizes (in addition to the traditional statistical significance) as a must and journals also start to require such reporting. Notably, in 2001 and 2010, The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association 5th and 6th editions emphasized that it is "almost always necessary" [@divine2018wilcoxon] to report effect sizes [@association2010, pp. 34; see @fritz2012, which provides a comprehensive summary on history and importance of effect size reporting].

Effects sizes can be grouped in broad categories as (1) raw effect sizes, and (2) standardized effect sizes. The raw effect sizes are a summary of the results that are expressed in the same units as the raw data. For example, when kilograms are measured, a raw effect size reports a measure in kilograms. Consider the effect of a diet on a treatment group; a control group receives no diet. The change in weight can be expressed as the mean difference between the groups. This measure is also in kg and so is a raw effect size. Standardized effect sizes expressed on a standardized scale where units are expressed as standard deviations (i.e., z-scores). Standardized effect sizes tend to be more comparable across studies that use different measures or unit scales.