The Retrospective Power Calculator

About the retrospective power calculator

What is a power calculation?

A power calculation determines whether the sample size in your experiment or study is big enough to give you a fair chance of proving your hypothesis if it is true. It is equivalent to a sample size calculation.

A "retrospective" power calculation is one that is carried out after the study has been run.

What's the point of the Retrospective Power Calculator?

The Retrospective Power Calculator is a teaching aid. It is designed to help you understand why statisticians do not recommend retrospective power calculations. See the next item.

Why aren't there more questions? It didn't even want to know the sample size, or effect size, or anything except whether the result was significant.

That's rather the point. See the previous item.

Does the Retrospective Power Calculator really work?

It's fair to say the method used is approximate. You'll notice that the output doesn't go to the trouble of defining "fully powered" or "underpowered" in any detail.

The answers it gives are usually right. If your answer to Question 1 is based on an incorrect analysis, or if you use assumptions that turn out to be wrong, then the power calculator will give you incorrect answers.

Next steps

Click here for help with proper power calculations.

Click here for another retrospective power calculation.

Click here for help with significance tests.