# Can I say one models Spearman coefficient is better than that of another model based on their respective p-values?

Is it possible to determine whether one model's Spearman rank is significantly better than that of another model based on the p-values for each?

Let's say that I have

model 1: $$\rho_s$$ = 0.9, p-value = 1.5E-10

model 2: $$\rho_s$$ = 0.86, p-value = 1E-10

Can I reject or accept the hypothesis that model 1 has a better Spearman rank than model 2 based on a criteria/formula/method which involves their p-values?

## Background

The models make predictions of a molecular property that I know from experiment. I have results for 50 molecules. So I have two sets of predictions of length 50, and one set of experimental results of length 50.

## Edit

I have decided to simply Bootstrap the $$\rho_s$$. This gives a confidence interval I can live with.

• I usually prefer to analyse the value of the correlation instead of the p-value, since the latter has a more visible dependence on the sample size. – Ertxiem - reinstate Monica Dec 20 '19 at 9:53
• Right, but is it possible to say one correlation is better by using knowledge of the p-values? – Charlie Crown Dec 20 '19 at 9:57
• I prefer to say that a correlation is stronger (better) because it has an absolute value closer to $1$. – Ertxiem - reinstate Monica Dec 20 '19 at 13:07
• Numbers are meaningless without significance level though. How do i define statistically if one has a higher rank than the other, or at least prove that I can't reject that one is higher – Charlie Crown Dec 20 '19 at 17:53
• Just in the same way p-values are meaningless without the corresponding statistical values. And p-values do not prove anything, they just correspond to a confidence level that the null hypothesis is true. Low p-values mean that it's unlikely that the null hypothesis is true, which is different from proving that it's false. – Ertxiem - reinstate Monica Dec 21 '19 at 2:28