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Topic: P-Values: P-Value in A Statistical Test

The document discusses p-values and statistical significance testing. It provides explanations and examples to illustrate that the smaller the p-value, the more likely we are to reject the null hypothesis and conclude that the experimental results were likely not due to random chance. It also explains that comparing the p-value to the predetermined significance level alpha allows us to determine if our results are statistically significant or not. Of the examples given, only the upper tailed test with a p-value of 0.0009 would lead to rejecting the null hypothesis, as it is the only p-value that is less than the significance level of 0.001.

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Vivek Hebalkar
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124 views6 pages

Topic: P-Values: P-Value in A Statistical Test

The document discusses p-values and statistical significance testing. It provides explanations and examples to illustrate that the smaller the p-value, the more likely we are to reject the null hypothesis and conclude that the experimental results were likely not due to random chance. It also explains that comparing the p-value to the predetermined significance level alpha allows us to determine if our results are statistically significant or not. Of the examples given, only the upper tailed test with a p-value of 0.0009 would lead to rejecting the null hypothesis, as it is the only p-value that is less than the significance level of 0.001.

Uploaded by

Vivek Hebalkar
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Topic: p-values

Question: The smaller the p-value in a statistical test…

Answer choices:

A the smaller the chance that the experimental results are random.

B the larger the chance that the experimental results are random.

C the more likely you are to reject the null hypothesis.

D both A and C

226
Solution: D

The smaller the p-value is in a statistical significance test, the more likely
we are to reject the null hypothesis and make a claim that the alternative
hypothesis is true. This means that our experimental results were not likely
to be due to random chance and we have evidence to support our claim.

227
Topic: p-values

Question: Why do you compare the p-value to alpha?

Answer choices:

A It’s a way of comparing the measure of inconsistency between the


hypothesized value and the population characteristic to the Type I
error.

B The p-value tells us how likely we are to observe an extreme test


statistic and the alpha level gives us an idea of the range of
extremeness that we’re comfortable with.

C Comparing the p-value to alpha lets you determine if your results


are significant within the parameters that you set up for the study.

D All of the above

228
Solution: D

All of these are ways of explaining what the p-value does. Remember that
alpha is the Type I error in a statistical significance test and it’s even called
the level of significance of the test. The p-value of the test is also called the
significance level. When you compare the p-value to alpha, you’re making
sure that the significance level of your test is smaller than the margin of
error you decided was needed to prove something important. That’s why,
if the p-value is smaller than the Type I error, you have enough evidence to
reject the null hypothesis.

229
Topic: p-values

Question: Which p-value would lead to a rejection of the null hypothesis at


the given significance level?

Answer choices:

A A lower tailed test with p = .002, α = .001

B An upper tailed test with p = .0009, α = .001

C A two tailed test with p = .07, α = .05

D A lower tailed test with p = .085, α = .05

230
Solution: B

The type of test doesn’t matter. We decide to reject, or fail to reject, a null
hypothesis based on a p-value by comparing the p-value to the Type I
error level we choose.

If p ≤ α, we reject the null hypothesis, and if p ≥ α, we fail to reject the null


hypothesis. Let’s look at the tests we were given.

For a lower tailed test with p = .002, α = .001, .002 > .001 so the p-value is
greater than α, which means we fail to reject the null hypothesis.

For an upper tailed test with p = .0009, α = .001, .0009 ≤ .001 so the p-value is
less than or equal to α, which means we reject the null hypothesis.

For a two tailed test with p = .07, α = .05, .07 > .05 so the p-value is greater
than α, which means we fail to reject the null hypothesis.

For a lower tailed test with p = .085, α = .05, .085 > .05 so the p-value is
greater than α, which means we fail to reject the null hypothesis.

231

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