Bayes factor functions for testing partial correlation coefficients (2503.10787v2)

Abstract: Partial correlation coefficients are widely applied in the social sciences to evaluate the relationship between two variables after accounting for the influence of others. In this article, we present Bayes Factor Functions (BFFs) for assessing the presence of partial correlation. BFFs represent Bayes factors derived from test statistics and are expressed as functions of a standardized effect size. While traditional frequentist methods based on $p$-values have been criticized for their inability to provide cumulative evidence in favor of the true hypothesis, Bayesian approaches are often challenged due to their computational demands and sensitivity to prior distributions. BFFs overcome these limitations and offer summaries of hypothesis tests as alternative hypotheses are varied over a range of prior distributions on standardized effects. They also enable the integration of evidence across multiple studies.