Comparison of false discovery rate and familywise error rate methods for analyzing the removal of compounds of emerging concern in wastewater treatment plants
Abstract In wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), numerous variables such as pollutant concentrations and treatment stages are routinely monitored and statistically evaluated. Conducting multiple hypothesis tests increases the risk of false positives, making proper correction procedures essential. Th...
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Springer
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Discover Applied Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1007/s42452-025-07426-y |
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| author | Gulhan Bourget |
| author_facet | Gulhan Bourget |
| author_sort | Gulhan Bourget |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract In wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), numerous variables such as pollutant concentrations and treatment stages are routinely monitored and statistically evaluated. Conducting multiple hypothesis tests increases the risk of false positives, making proper correction procedures essential. This study compares the effectiveness of false discovery rate (FDR) methods–Benjamini-Hochberg (BH) and Benjamini-Yekutieli (BY)–against familywise error rate (FWER) approaches including the Bonferroni correction and Tukey’s Honest Significant Difference (HSD) tests. The analysis focuses on treatment effects across 31 chemical compounds from a California WWTP. Of 310 pairwise comparisons (ten per compound), significant differences were identified in ten compounds. BH-FDR, Bonferroni, and Tukey’s HSD each detected 33 significant comparisons, while BY-FDR detected 28. Although the total number of discoveries was similar across BH-FDR, Bonferroni, and Tukey’s HSD test, their adjusted p-values varied in magnitude. BH-FDR was generally the least conservative, while Bonferroni was the most conservative. Tukey’s HSD was more conservative than BH-FDR in several instances. These results highlight trade-offs between sensitivity and stringency across methods. We recommend BH-FDR for exploratory analysis, BY-FDR when dependency among tests is expected, and Bonferroni or Tukey’s HSD for analyses requiring strict control of false positives. This comparative framework provides practical guidance for selecting statistical correction methods in WWTP studies. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-cf408602f45a4b84bb97c8f19e94b72c |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 3004-9261 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Springer |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Discover Applied Sciences |
| spelling | doaj-art-cf408602f45a4b84bb97c8f19e94b72c2025-08-20T03:45:34ZengSpringerDiscover Applied Sciences3004-92612025-07-017711310.1007/s42452-025-07426-yComparison of false discovery rate and familywise error rate methods for analyzing the removal of compounds of emerging concern in wastewater treatment plantsGulhan Bourget0Department of Mathematics, California State University, FullertonAbstract In wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), numerous variables such as pollutant concentrations and treatment stages are routinely monitored and statistically evaluated. Conducting multiple hypothesis tests increases the risk of false positives, making proper correction procedures essential. This study compares the effectiveness of false discovery rate (FDR) methods–Benjamini-Hochberg (BH) and Benjamini-Yekutieli (BY)–against familywise error rate (FWER) approaches including the Bonferroni correction and Tukey’s Honest Significant Difference (HSD) tests. The analysis focuses on treatment effects across 31 chemical compounds from a California WWTP. Of 310 pairwise comparisons (ten per compound), significant differences were identified in ten compounds. BH-FDR, Bonferroni, and Tukey’s HSD each detected 33 significant comparisons, while BY-FDR detected 28. Although the total number of discoveries was similar across BH-FDR, Bonferroni, and Tukey’s HSD test, their adjusted p-values varied in magnitude. BH-FDR was generally the least conservative, while Bonferroni was the most conservative. Tukey’s HSD was more conservative than BH-FDR in several instances. These results highlight trade-offs between sensitivity and stringency across methods. We recommend BH-FDR for exploratory analysis, BY-FDR when dependency among tests is expected, and Bonferroni or Tukey’s HSD for analyses requiring strict control of false positives. This comparative framework provides practical guidance for selecting statistical correction methods in WWTP studies.https://doi.org/10.1007/s42452-025-07426-yActivated sludge effluentAntibioticAnti-coagulantAnti-inflammatoryBenjamini-HochbergBenjamini-Yekutieli |
| spellingShingle | Gulhan Bourget Comparison of false discovery rate and familywise error rate methods for analyzing the removal of compounds of emerging concern in wastewater treatment plants Discover Applied Sciences Activated sludge effluent Antibiotic Anti-coagulant Anti-inflammatory Benjamini-Hochberg Benjamini-Yekutieli |
| title | Comparison of false discovery rate and familywise error rate methods for analyzing the removal of compounds of emerging concern in wastewater treatment plants |
| title_full | Comparison of false discovery rate and familywise error rate methods for analyzing the removal of compounds of emerging concern in wastewater treatment plants |
| title_fullStr | Comparison of false discovery rate and familywise error rate methods for analyzing the removal of compounds of emerging concern in wastewater treatment plants |
| title_full_unstemmed | Comparison of false discovery rate and familywise error rate methods for analyzing the removal of compounds of emerging concern in wastewater treatment plants |
| title_short | Comparison of false discovery rate and familywise error rate methods for analyzing the removal of compounds of emerging concern in wastewater treatment plants |
| title_sort | comparison of false discovery rate and familywise error rate methods for analyzing the removal of compounds of emerging concern in wastewater treatment plants |
| topic | Activated sludge effluent Antibiotic Anti-coagulant Anti-inflammatory Benjamini-Hochberg Benjamini-Yekutieli |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1007/s42452-025-07426-y |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT gulhanbourget comparisonoffalsediscoveryrateandfamilywiseerrorratemethodsforanalyzingtheremovalofcompoundsofemergingconcerninwastewatertreatmentplants |