Final answer:
A statistically significant finding means that the results are unlikely to have occurred by random chance, typically indicated by a p-value less than 0.05, which suggests a less than 5% probability that the observed effect is due to luck. Thus, the answer to the question is True.
Step-by-step explanation:
A statistically significant finding implies that the results obtained in an experiment or observational study are highly unlikely to have occurred due to random chance alone. When researchers state that a finding is statistically significant, it means they have enough evidence to reject the null hypothesis, which typically posits that there is no effect or no difference. The critical value for significance is often set at a p-value less than 0.05 (5%), which means if the experiment were repeated 100 times, the observed effect or difference would occur 5 times or less purely by chance.
The concept of statistical significance is used across various scientific disciplines to ensure that the results are robust and not simply a coincidence. For instance, if an experiment yields a p-value of 0.03, there is a 3% chance that the observed difference between two groups is due to luck. This would generally be considered significant because it is below the conventional threshold of 5%, suggesting that the observed effect is indeed unlikely to have happened by chance. Thus, the answer to the question is True: a statistically significant finding means that the obtained results are not likely to have been due to chance.