Why can acceptability be judged by tests of significance, such as t-test and F-test?
Tests of significance are useful mainly to assess whether there are sufficient data to support a conclusion that a difference or error exists (statistical significance), not whether that difference or error is large enough to invalidate the usefulness of a test (clinical significance). It is best to judge the acceptability of method performance by comparison of the observed errors to the total error that is allowable (such as defined in the CLIA criteria for acceptability of proficiency testing performance).
