Hypothesis testing

• When interpreting research findings, researchers need to assess

whether these findings may have occurred by chance. Hypothesis
testing is a systematic procedure for deciding whether the results of a
research study support a particular theory which applies to a
population.
• Hypothesis testing uses sample data to evaluate a hypothesis about a
population. A hypothesis test assesses how unusual the result is,
whether it is reasonable chance variation or whether the result is too
extreme to be considered chance variation.
Null and research hypotheses
• To carry out statistical hypothesis testing, research and null
hypothesis are employed:
• Research hypothesis: this is the hypothesis that you propose, also
known as the alternative hypothesis HA. For example:
• HA: There is a relationship between intelligence and academic results.
• HA: First year university students obtain higher grades after an
intensive Statistics course.
• HA; Males and females differ in their levels of stress.
• The null hypothesis (Ho) is the opposite of the research hypothesis and
expresses that there is no relationship between variables, or no differences
between groups; for example:

• Ho: There is no relationship between intelligence and academic results.

• Ho:  First year university students do not obtain higher grades after an
intensive Statistics course.
• Ho: Males and females will not differ in their levels of stress.
Hypothesis is usually considered as the principal instrument in
research.
The main goal in many research studies is to check whether the data
collected support certain statements or predictions.
A statistical hypothesis is an assertion or conjecture concerning one or
more populations.
Test of hypothesis is a process of testing of the significance regarding
the parameters of the population on the basis of sample drawn from it.
Thus, it is also termed as “Test of Significance’.
Types of Hypothesis:
There are two types of hypothesis,
i.e., Research Hypothesis and Statistical Hypothesis
1. Research Hypothesis: A research hypothesis is a tentative solution
for the problem being investigated.
2. It is the supposition that motivates the researcher to accomplish
future course of action.
3. In research, the researcher determines whether or not their
supposition can be supported through scientific investigation.
2. Statistical Hypothesis:

Statistical hypothesis is a statement about the population which we

want to verify on the basis of sample taken from population.
Statistical hypothesis is stated in such a way that they may be evaluated
by appropriate statistical techniques.
Types of Statistical Hypotheses
There are two types of statistical hypotheses:
1. Null Hypothesis (H0) – 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.
Alternative Hypothesis (H1 or Ha) – 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. Alternative
hypothesis is created in a negative meaning of the null hypothesis.
Suppose we want to test the hypothesis that the population mean (µ) is
equal to the hypothesised mean (µH0) = 100. Then we would say that
the null hypothesis is that the population mean is equal to the
hypothesised mean 100 and symbolically we can express as: H0: µ = µ
H0 = 100
Types of Error:
In the context of testing of hypotheses, there are basically two types of
errors we can make.
a. Type 1 error: To reject the null hypothesis when it is true is to make
what is known as a type I error. The level at which a result is
declared significant is known as the type I error rate, often denoted
by α.
b. Type II error: If we do not reject the null hypothesis when in fact
there is a difference between the groups, we make what is known
as a type II error. The type II error rate is often denoted as β.
Procedure of Hypothesis Testing
Procedure for hypothesis testing refers to all those steps that we undertake for making
a choice between the two actions i.e., rejection and acceptance of a null hypothesis.
The various steps involved in hypothesis testing are stated below:
1. Making a formal statement: The step consists in making a formal statement of the
null hypothesis (H0) and also of the alternative hypothesis (Ha or H1). This means
that hypotheses should be clearly stated, considering the nature of the research
problem.
2. Selecting a significance level: The hypotheses are tested on a pre-determined level
of significance and as such the same should be specified. Generally, in practice,
either 5% level or 1% level is adopted for the purpose.
3. Deciding the distribution to use: After deciding the level of significance, the next
step in hypothesis testing is to determine the appropriate sampling distribution.
The choice generally remains between normal distribution and the t-distribution.
4. Selecting a random sample and computing an appropriate value: Another
step is to select a random sample(s) and compute an appropriate value from
the sample data concerning the test statistic utilizing the relevant
distribution. In other words, draw a sample to furnish empirical data.
5. Calculation of the probability: One has then to calculate the probability
that the sample result would diverge as widely as it has from expectations,
if the null hypothesis were in fact true.
6. Comparing the probability and Decision making: Yet another step consists
in comparing the probability thus calculated with the specified value for α,
the significance level. If the calculated probability is equal to or smaller than
the α value in case of one-tailed test (and α /2 in case of two-tailed test),
then reject the null hypothesis (i.e., accept the alternative hypothesis), but
if the calculated probability is greater, then accept the null hypothesis.
IMPORTANT PARAMETRIC TESTS The important parametric tests are: (1)
z-test; (2) t-test; and (3) F-test. All these tests are based on the
assumption of normality i.e., the source of data is considered to be
normally distributed.
1. z- test: It is based on the normal probability distribution and is used
for judging the significance of several statistical measures, particularly
the mean. This is a most frequently used test in research studies.
t- test: It is based on t-distribution and is considered an appropriate test
for judging the significance of a sample mean or for judging the
significance of difference between the means of two samples in case of
small sample(s) when population variance is not known (in which case
we use variance of the sample as an estimate of the population
variance).
F-test: It is based on F-distribution and is used to compare the variance
of the two independent samples. This test is also used in the context of
analysis of variance (ANOVA) for judging the significance of more than
two sample means at one and the same time.