# Alternatives to the null hypothesis significance testing framework

How did academics support hypotheses before the null hypothesis significance testing (NHST) framework was, in part, introduced and democratized by Fisher/Neyman & Pearson? Suppose NHST was never a thing, what are some plausible frameworks academics could employ to support their hypotheses today? Are there alternatives based on mathematics outside of statistics and/or probability?

• A little like asking how we would get along if no one had invented multiplication; not sure to overcome that. Maybe confidence intervals could substitute for some tests of hypotheses. Sep 21, 2020 at 5:56
• There were many tests performed before either Fisher or Neyman and Pearson. The earliest hypothesis test was probably Arbuthnot (1710), who essentially performed a sign test (binomial test with $p_0=\frac12$). However, in any case science mostly managed pretty well without statistical hypothesis tests. Careful experiment, observation and repeated replication can render conclusions evident enough. Sep 21, 2020 at 9:31