Think about it. But that doesn't stop us from doing it, or from doing it well. Broadway Books, 2000. Then you hear the very comment you'd been turning over in your mind uttered by a male colleague at the table. In social science research, the experimenter is interested in determining whether her treatment had an effect.
Scientists know that absolute accuracy is impossible.
Instead, they choose a level of confidence - i.e., the probability of being wrong in concluding that the treatment is effective. If the experimenter chooses to be very cautious in calculating her required level of confidence, she risks another kind of error - that of failing to detect the effectiveness of the treatment. Many business and professional women appear to lack confidence because they require too high a level of confidence before holding forth. This may be particularly true of midlife women, who were not socialized to be outspoken or to take significant risks. They're not used to experiencing temporary setbacks.