Hypothesis Testing

A hypothesis, in statistics, is a statement about a population parameter,

where this statement typically is represented by some specific numerical
value. In testing a hypothesis, we use a method where we gather data in an
effort to gather evidence about the hypothesis.

What is a hypothesis in research?

A research hypothesis is a statement of expectation or prediction that will be

tested by research. Before formulating your research hypothesis, read about
the topic of interest to you.

There are two types of a hypothesis tests:

• Null Hypothesis: It is denoted as H₀.

- is a statistical hypothesis that states that there is no difference

between a parameter and a specific value, or that there is no
difference between two parameters.

What is a null hypothesis?

The null hypothesis in statistics says that there is no certain difference between the
population. It serves as a conjecture proposing no difference, whereas the alternate
hypothesis says there is a difference. When we perform hypothesis testing, we have to
state the null hypothesis and alternative hypotheses such that only one of them is ever
true.

• Alternative Hypothesis: it is denoted as H₁ or Hₐ.

- is a statistical hypothesis that states the existence of a difference

between a parameter and a specific value, or states that there is a
difference between two parameters.

What is alternative hypothesis?

The alternative hypothesis is a statement used in statistical inference experiment. It is
contradictory to the null hypothesis and denoted by Ha or H1. We can also say that it is
simply an alternative to the null. In hypothesis testing, an alternative theory is a statement
which a researcher is testing.
How is a hypothesis test like a court case?
Hypothesis testing is much like a criminal trial where you are in the role of a jury member
(or judge if no jury is present). Initially, the defendant is assumed innocent. In our situation,
the true means are assumed to be equal between the groups. Then evidence is presented
and, as a juror, you analyze it.
Situation A
A medical researcher is interested in finding out whether a new medication will have any
undesirable side effects. The researcher is particularly concerned with the pulse rate of
the patients who take the medication. Will the pulse rate increase, decrease, or remain
unchanged after a patient takes the medication? The researcher knows that the mean
pulse rate for the population under study is 82 beats per minute.
Ho: The mean pulse rate is not equal to 82 beats per minute.
µ ≠ 82
Ha: The mean pulse rate is equal to 82 beats per minute.
µ = 82

Situation B
A chemist invents an additive to increase the life of an automobile battery. The mean
lifetime of the automobile battery without the additive is 36 months.
Ho: The mean lifetime of the automobile battery without the additive is not equal to 36
months
µ ≠ 36
Ha: The mean lifetime of the automobile battery without the additive is equal to 36 months
µ = 36

What are the two errors that can be found while performing the null Hypothesis test?
While performing the null hypothesis test there is a possibility of occurring two types of
errors,
• Type-1: The type-1 error. It is the rejection of the true null hypothesis.
• Type-2: The type-2 error. The false null hypothesis is not rejected.
Claim
When a researcher conducts a study, he or she is generally looking for evidence to
support a claim. Therefore, the claim should be stated as the alternative hypothesis, or
research hypothesis.
A claim, though, can be stated as either the null hypothesis or the alternative hypothesis;
however, the statistical evidence can only support the claim if it is the alternative
hypothesis. Statistical evidence can be used to reject the claim if the claim is the null
hypothesis.
These facts are important when you are stating the conclusion of a statistical study.

Six Steps for Hypothesis Tests

In hypothesis testing, there are certain steps one must follow. Below these
are summarized into six such steps to conducting a test of a hypothesis.

1. Set up the hypotheses and check conditions: Each hypothesis test

includes two hypotheses about the population. One is the null
hypothesis, notated as H0, which is a statement of a particular
parameter value. This hypothesis is assumed to be true until there is
evidence to suggest otherwise. The second hypothesis is called the
alternative, or research hypothesis, notated as Ha. The alternative
hypothesis is a statement of a range of alternative values in which the
parameter may fall. One must also check that any conditions
(assumptions) needed to run the test have been satisfied e.g. normality
of data, independence, and number of success and failure outcomes.

2. Decide on the significance level, α: This value is used as a probability

cutoff for making decisions about the null hypothesis. This alpha value
represents the probability we are willing to place on our test for making
an incorrect decision in regards to rejecting the null hypothesis. The
most common α value is 0.05 or 5%. Other popular choices are 0.01
(1%) and 0.1 (10%).

3. Calculate the test statistic: Gather sample data and calculate a test
statistic where the sample statistic is compared to the parameter value.
The test statistic is calculated under the assumption the null hypothesis
is true and incorporates a measure of standard error and assumptions
(conditions) related to the sampling.
 For example, the test statistic for a Z-test is the Z-statistic, which has
the standard normal distribution under the null hypothesis. Suppose
you perform a two-tailed Z-test with an α of 0.05, and obtain a Z-
statistic (also called a Z-value) based on your data of 2.5. This Z-value
corresponds to a p-value of 0.0124.

4. Calculate probability value (p-value), or find the rejection region: A p-

value is found by using the test statistic to calculate the probability of
the sample data producing such a test statistic or one more extreme.
The rejection region is found by using alpha to find a critical value; the
rejection region is the area that is more extreme than the critical value.
We discuss the p-value and rejection region in more detail in the next
section.

5. Make a decision about the null hypothesis: In this step, we decide to

either reject the null hypothesis or decide to fail to reject the null
hypothesis. Notice we do not make a decision where we will accept the
null hypothesis.

6. State an overall conclusion: Once we have found the p-value or

rejection region, and made a statistical decision about the null
hypothesis (i.e. we will reject the null or fail to reject the null), we then
want to summarize our results into an overall conclusion for our test.

We will follow these six steps for the remainder of this Lesson. In the future
Lessons, the steps will be followed but may not be explained explicitly.

Step 1 is a very important step to set up correctly. If your hypotheses are

incorrect, your conclusion will be incorrect. In this next section, we practice
with Step 1 for the one sample situations.
1. H0: The mean breaking strength is equal to 8 kg.
2. Ha: The mean breaking strength is not equal to 8 kg.

H0: µ = 8 kg
Ha: µ ≠ 8 kg

3. Identify the Alpha level of significance.

α = 0.01

To find the critical value: α/2

0.01/2 = 0.005
(find 0.005 on z-table, since there is no value of 0.005 on column C,
page 329, we must find a value that is lower than 0.005. We have a
value of 0.0049)

Find horizontally the Z critical value using 0.0049 on the table, page
329.

Z(crit) = ±2.58

Since it is two-tailed test (indicate by the symbol ≠ based on

the Alternative hypothesis), we have to use positive negative
sign (±).
 4. Test statistic:

x̄ −µ 7.8−8
Z= Z= = -2.83
𝛔÷√n 0.5÷√50
x̄ = 7.8 σ = 0.5
µ=8 n = 50

Failed to Reject Region

Calculated z - value

-2.83 -2.58 +2.58

0

Rejection Region
Critical Value

• we have to reject the null hypothesis since the calculated z-value enters the rejection region.

5. Decision: Reject H0(Null Hypothesis)

6. Conclusion: The mean breaking strength in not equal to 8 kg, but in
fact, less than 8 kg.

H0: The mean breaking strength is equal to 8 kg.

Ha: The mean breaking strength is not equal to 8 kg.
1. H0: The average life span is equal to 70 years.
2. Ha: The average life span is greater than 70 years.

H0: µ = 70 years
Ha: µ > 70 years

3. Identify the Alpha level of significance.

α = 0.05

To find the critical value: 1-α

1-0.05=0.95
(find 0.95 on z-table, since there is no value of 0.95 on column B,
page 328, we must find a value that is lower than 0.95. We have a
value of 0.9495)

Find horizontally the Z critical value using 0.9495 on the table, page
328.

Find horizontally the Z critical value using 0.9495 on the table, page
328.
Z(crit) = +1.64
 Since it is one-tailed test (indicate by a symbol > based on
the Alternative hypothesis), we have to use positive sign (+).

4. Test statistic:

x̄ −µ 71.8−70 1.8
Z= Z= = =2.02
𝛔÷√n 8.9÷√100 0.89

x̄ = 71.8 σ = 8.9
µ = 70 n = 100

Failed to Reject Region

Calculated z - value

0 +1.64
+2.02

Critical Value
Rejection Region

• we have to reject the null hypothesis since the calculated z-value enters the rejection region.
 5. Decision: Reject H0(Null Hypothesis)
6. Conclusion: The average life span today is greater than 70 years.

Page 328.
Page 329.
Page 330.

• Column B is for One-tailed test, either least than (<) or greater than (>)
Alternative hypothesis
• Column C is for Two-tailed test, indicated by the symbol not equal (≠)
Alternative Hypothesis