Topic: Hypothesis Testing

Delivered By: Dr Meenu Sharma

Associate Professor
Chitkara School of Psychology and Counselling
Introduction

A hypothesis is a formal tentative statement of the expected

relationship between two or

variables under study.

A hypothesis helps to translate the research problem &

objectives into a clear explanation or prediction of the
expected results or outcomes of the research study.

A clearly stated hypothesis includes the variables to be

manipulated or measured, identifies the population to be
examined, & indicates the proposed outcome for the study.
Hypothesis is a tentative prediction or explanation of the
relationship between two variables.’ Implies that there is a
systematic relationship between an independent & a
dependent variable.

For example, dietary compliance will be greater in diabetic

patients receiving diet instruction in small groups than in
diabetic patients receiving Individualized diet instructions.

Good & Hatt define hypothesis as a shrewd guess or

inference that is formulated & provisionally adopted. To
explain observed facts or conditions & to guide in
investigation.
IMPORTANCE OF HYPOTHESIS IN RESEARCH

Hypotheses enables the researcher to objective investigate new

areas of discovery. Thus, it provides a powerful tool for the
advancement of knowledge.

Hypotheses provides objectivity to the research activity.

It also provides directions to conduct research such as

defining the sources & relevance of data.

Hypotheses provides clear & specific goals to the researchers.

These clear & specific goals provide the investigator with a basis
for selecting sample & research procedures to meet these goals.
IMPORTANCE OF HYPOTHESIS IN RESEARCH

Hypotheses provides link between theories actual practical

research. It provides a bridge between theory & reality

A hypothesis suggests which type of research is likely to be most

appropriate.

As it is a tentative statement of anticipated results, it guides the

researcher towards the direction in which the research
should proceed.

It stimulates the thinking process of researcher as the researcher

forms the hypothesis by anticipating the outcome.
It also determines the most appropriate research
designs & techniques of data analysis.

Hypotheses provides understanding to the researchers

about what expect from the results of the research
study.

It serves as framework for drawing conclusions of a

research study.

Without hypotheses, research would be like aimless

wandering.
CHARACERISTICS OF A GOOD HYPOTHESIS

Conceptual clarity: Hypothesis should consist of clearly

defined & understandable concepts. It should be stated in
very terms, the meaning & implication of which cannot be
doubted. To facilitate the conceptual clarity, hypothesis can
be stated in declarative statement, in present tense.

Empirical referents: Research must have an ultimate

empirical referent. No usable hypothesis can embody moral
judgments. A good hypothesis must have empirical basis
from the area of enquiry.
CHARACERISTICS OF A GOOD HYPOTHESIS

Objectivity: Hypothesis must be objective, which

facilitates objectivity in data collection & keeps the research
activity free from researcher value judgment.

Specificity:. it should be specific, not general, & should

explain the expected. elations between variables. For
example, regular yoga reduces stress.
CHARACERISTICS OF A GOOD HYPOTHESIS

Relevant: The hypothesis should be relevant to the problem

being studied as well as the objectives of the study.
Hypothesis must have relevance with theory under test in a
research process.

Testability: Hypothesis should be testable & should not be a

moral judgment. It must be directly/indirectly observable &
measurable. The researcher can set up a situation that permits
one to Assess if it is true or false. It must be verifiable. For
example, a statement such as 'bad partners produce bad
children'. This sort of hypothesis cannot be tested.
CHARACERISTICS OF A GOOD HYPOTHESIS

Consistency: A hypothesis should be consistent with an

existing body of theories, research findings, & other
hypotheses. It should correspond with existing knowledge.

Simplicity: A hypothesis should be formulated in simple &

understandable terms. It should require fewer conditions &
assumptions.
CHARACERISTICS OF A GOOD HYPOTHESIS

Availability of techniques: The researchers must make sure

methods are available for testing their proposed hypotheses

Purposiveness: The researcher must formulate only

purposeful hypotheses, which has relevance with research
problem & objectives.

Verifiability: A good hypothesis can be actually verified in

practical terms.
CHARACERISTICS OF A GOOD HYPOTHESIS

Profundity of effect: A good hypothesis should have

profound effect upon a variety of research variables.

Economical: The expenditure of money & the time can be

controlled if the hypotheses underlying the research
undertaken is good.
 Simple and complex
hypothesis

Associative and casual

Null and research hypothesis TYPES OF HYPOTHESIS hypothesis

Directional and non-

directional hypothesis
SIMPLE AND COMPLEX HYPOTHESIS

Simple hypothesis: It is a statement which reflects the

relationship between two variables. For example, ‘the
lower the level of hemoglobin, the higher is the risk of
infection among postpartum women’.

Complex hypothesis: It is a statement which reflects the

relationship between more than two variables. For
example, ‘satisfaction is higher among patients who older &
dwelling in rural area than those who are younger & dwelling
in urban area’.
ASSOCIATIVE HYPOTHESIS

Associative hypothesis: It reflects a relationship between variables that

occur exists in natural settings without manipulation. This hypothesis is
used in correlational research studies

Examples of ASSOCIATIVE hypothesis

Communication skills of health care providers

& cost of care related to the satisfaction of
patients
CASUAL HYPOTHESIS

It predicts the cause-and-effect relationship between two or

more dependent & independent variables e.g experimental or
interventional setting, where independent variable is
manipulated by research to examine the effect on the
dependent variable.

The causal hypothesis reflects the measurement of

dependent variable to examine the effect of dependent
variable, which is manipulated by the researcher(s).
Directional Hypothesis:
It specifies not only the existence, but also the expected
direction of the relationship between variables.

Directional hypothesis states the nature of the relationship

between two or more variables such as positive, negative, or no
relationship.

To express the direction of relationship between variables, the

directional terms are used to state the hypothesis such as
positive, negative, less, more, increased, decreased, great or
higher, lower, etc.

Example, there is a positive relationship between years of

nursing experience & job satisfaction among nurses
Non-directional Hypothesis:

It reflects the relationship between two or more variables, but is

does not specify the anticipated direction & nature of
relationship such as positive or negative.

It indicates the existence of relationship between the variables.

For example, there is relationship between years of nursing

experience & job satisfaction among nurses.
 NULL AND RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

Null Hypothesis (H0):

It is also known as statistical hypothesis & is used for statistical testing

& interpretation of statistical outcomes.
It states the existence of no relationship between the independent &
dependent variables.
For example, there is no relationship between smoking & the incidence
of coronary artery disease”.

Alternate/Research Hypothesis (H1/HA):

It states the existence of relationship between two or more variables.

For example, there is relationship between smoking & incidences of
lung cancer.
 Errors in Hypothesis Testing
Using hypothesis testing, decisions can be made about
whether the data support or refute the research predictions
with null and alternative hypotheses.

Hypothesis testing starts with the assumption of no difference

between groups or no relationship between variables in the
population—this is the null hypothesis.

It’s always paired with an alternative hypothesis, which is the

research prediction of an actual difference between groups or
a true relationship between variables.
 Errors in Hypothesis Testing

A type I error, also known as an error of the first kind, occurs

when the null hypothesis. ( H0 ) is true, but is rejected.

A type I error may be compared with a so called false positive.

A Type I error occurs when we believe a falsehood.

The rate of the type I error is called the size of the test and
denoted by the Greek letter α (alpha).

It usually equals the significance level of a test.

If type I error is fixed at 5 %, it means that there are about 5
chances in 100 that we will reject , H0 when H0, is true.
 Type II error

also known as an error of the second kind, occurs when the null
hypothesis is false, but erroneously fails to be rejected.
Type II error means accepting the hypothesis which should have
been rejected.

A type II error may be compared with a so-called False Negative.

A Type II error is committed when we fail to believe a truth.

A type II error occurs when one rejects the alternative hypothesis (fails
to reject the null hypothesis) when the alternative hypothesis is true.
The rate of the type II error is denoted by the Greek letter β (beta) and
related to the power of a test (which equals 1-).
 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN TYPE I AND TYPE II ERRORS

TYPE I ERROR TYPE II ERROR

A type I error is when a statistic calls A type II error is when a statistic does
for the rejection of a null hypothesis not give enough evidence to reject a null
which is factually true. hypothesis even when the null
hypothesis should factually be rejected.
We may reject H0 ,when H0 ,is true
is known as Type I error. We may accept H0, when infect H0 is
not true is known as Type II Error.
A type I error is called a false A type II error is a false negative.
positive.
It denoted by the Greek letter α It denoted by the Greek letter β (Beta)
(alpha).
 t-test
A t-test is the final statistical measure for determining
differences between two means that may or may not be
related.

It is aimed at hypothesis testing, which is used to test a

hypothesis pertaining to a given population.

It is the difference between population means and a

hypothesized value.

One-sample, two-sample, paired, equal, and unequal variance

are the types of t-tests users can use for mean comparisons.
A t test is a parametric test applied to identify how to average
of two data sets differ when variance is not given.

•The data are continuous.

•The sample data have been randomly sampled
from a population.
•There is homogeneity of variance (i.e., the
variability of the data in each group is similar).
•The distribution is approximately normal.
The final t- test interpretation could be obtained in 2 way :

A null hypothesis signifies that the difference between the means is zero and
where both the means are shown as equal.
An alternate hypothesis implies the difference between the means is different
from zero.

This hypothesis rejects the null hypothesis, indicating that the data set is quite
accurate and not by chance.

NOTE: This T-test, however, is only valid and should be done when the mean or
average of only two categories or groups needs to be compared. As soon as the
number of comparisons to be made is more than two, conducting this is not
recommended.
 ASSUMPTIONS

The measurement scale used for such hypothesis testing follows a set of continuous
or ordinal patterns.

The accounted parameters and variants influencing the samples and surrounding the
groups are based on the standard consideration.

When the data is plotted with respect to the T-test distribution, it should follow a
normal distribution and bring about a bell-curved graph.
 One sample t-test

◦ While performing this test, the mean or average of one group is compared against the set
average, which is either the theoretical value or means of the population.
◦ For example, a teacher wishes to figure out the average height of the students of class 5
and compare the same against a set value of more than 45 kgs.
◦ The teacher first randomly selects a group of students and records individual weights to
achieve this. Next, she finds out the mean weight for that group and checks if it meets the
standard set value of 45+.
◦ The formula used to obtain one-sample t-test results is:
◦ Where,
◦ T = t-statistic
◦ m = mean of the group
◦ = theoretical mean value of the population
◦ s = standard deviation of the group
◦ n = sample size
 Independent Two-Sample t-Test

This is the test conducted when samples from two different groups, species, or
populations are studied and compared. It is also known as an independent T-test.

For example, if a teacher wants to compare the height of male students and female
students in class 5, she would use the independent two-sample test
The T-test formula used to calculate this is:

Where,
mA & mB = means of samples from two different groups or populations
nA & nB = respective sample sizes
s2 = standard deviation or common variance of two samples
 Paired Sample T-Test

This hypothesis testing is conducted when two groups belong to the

same population or group
The groups are studied either at two different times or under two varied
conditions
The formula used to obtain the t-value is:
Where,
T = t-statistic
m = mean of the group
= theoretical mean value of the population
s = standard deviation of the group
n = sample size
 Z Score
◦ Statistical test used to analyse whether two population means are different
or not when variance are known.
◦ Sample Size is large
◦ Sample size is more than 30.
◦ Z distribution is normal when the mean is 0 and variance is 1.
 DEFINITION
A standard score (z-score) indicates how many standard deviations an
element is from the mean.

A standard score can be calculated from the following formula.

Z = (x – μ) / σ

Where z is the z-score, X is the value of the element, μ is the mean of

the population, and σ is the standard deviation.
 HOW TO INTERPRET Z-SCORES

A z-score less than O represents an element less than the mean.

A z-score greater than O represents an element greater than the

mean.

A z-score equal to O represents an element equal to the mean.

A z-score equal to 1 represents an element that is 1 standard
deviation greater than the mean; a z-score equal to 2, 2 standard
deviations greater than the mean; etc.

A z-score equal to -1 represents an element that is 1 standard

deviation less than the mean; a z-score equal to -2, 2 standard
deviations less than the mean; etc.
 Power of a
test
The ability to detect a statistically significant association

It can also be seen as the probability of not missing an effect, due to

sampling error, when there really is an effect

It is also the probability of avoiding a type 2 error, i.e., 1- beta

A prospective power analysis is used before collecting data, to
consider design sensitivity

A retrospective power analysis is used in order to know whether the

studies you are interpreting were well enough designed
 REFERENCES

Statistics for behavioral and social sciences. Mohanty, B. & Misra, S.

(2015).New Delhi: SAGE Publications.

Statistics in Psychology & Education, Henry E.Garrett, 2005. Paragon

International Publishers

Statistics in Psychology & Education, Mangal, S.K., 2002, Prentice Hall India
Learning Private Limited

Snyder, M., & Swann, W. B. (1978). Hypothesis-testing processes in social

interaction. Journal of personality and social psychology, 36(11), 1202.
THANK YOU!