Question: Which of the following is the first step in hypothesis testing?
A Conducting data analysis
B Formulating a null hypothesis (H0) and an alternative hypothesis (H1)
C Collecting data
D Calculating the test statistic
Answer: Formulating a null hypothesis (H0) and an alternative hypothesis (H1)
| Steps | Description | |
| 1 | State the Null Hypothesis | · Formulate a null hypothesis (H0) that represents no difference. |
| 2 | State the Alternative Hypothesis | · Formulate an alternative hypothesis (H1) that represents the statement you want to test. |
| 2 | Collect Data | · Collect the relevant data through observations, experiments and surveys. |
| 3 | Set Significance level (α) | · Significance level (α) represents the threshold for considering results statistically significant. · Common values for α include 0.05 and 0.01, indicating the probability of making a Type I error (false positive). |
| 4 | Calculate a test statistic | · Perform a statistical test that corresponds to the hypothesis being tested e.g., t-test, chi-squared test, ANOVA. · Calculate the test statistic and determine the p-value associated with the test. |
| 5 | Analyzing the results | · Compare the p-value to the chosen significance level (α). · If p ≤ α, the results are statistically significant. · If p > α, the results are not statistically significant, and you fail to reject the null hypothesis. |
| 6 | Making a decision | · If p ≤ α, reject the null hypothesis in favor of the alternative hypothesis (H1). · If p > α, fail to reject the null hypothesis as there is not enough evidence to support the alternative hypothesis. |
| 7 | Draw Conclusions | · Report the results, including the test statistic, p-value and whether the null hypothesis was rejected or not. |