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I have a problem with the interpretation of a test result in which the p-value is 1.727e-05. How should it be interpreted? What is the e for?

Simon M
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    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_notation – Bryan Krause Mar 28 '19 at 19:48
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    Possible duplicate of [What does the notation like 8.6e-28 mean? What is the 'e' for?](https://stats.stackexchange.com/questions/138856/what-does-the-notation-like-8-6e-28-mean-what-is-the-e-for) Once you know that it's scientific notation, it's no different than any other $p$-value. – Sycorax Mar 28 '19 at 19:51

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e is shorthand scientific notation, short for x10^. So, your p-value is 1.727 x 10^-5, or .00001727. If the test you used to derive this p-value was used correctly, then it means there is a 0.001727% chance that data as or more extreme than what you observed was generated under the null hypothesis, suggesting that the alternative hypothesis is a better explanation for your data. If the test you used to derive this value was not applied correctly, then this value means nothing at all - if you're asking what a p-value means, you should probably double check that the hypothesis testing you're doing is appropriate.

Nuclear Hoagie
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