Re: False positive/negative

Posted by Homer Simpson on Jun 20, 2014; 7:13am
URL: http://discussion-forum.276.s1.nabble.com/False-positive-negative-tp7593014p7593166.html

Type II error is referred to as false negative. Check wikipedia for this:-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_I_and_type_II_errors

Secondly, one cant apply doctor-patient analogy for false positives and negatives!

here Ho = patient is healthy
       Ha = not healthy

Doctor wants to see if patient comes out healthy but actually isnt - meaning we accept a false null - this null is an average figure and sometimes it can be miscalculated/wrongly presented by medical researchers. the usage of "positive" could also mean a favorable medical test result - no disease or being "positive" for a disease! so we cant use that as a basis.