 The testing of hypothesis is a common procedure; that researcher use to

prove the validity, that determines whether a specific hypothesis is

correct or not.

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. The null hypothesis contains a condition of
equality: =, , or 
2. Alternative Hypothesis (H1) – 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. Contains ,<,>

Note: H0 will ALWAYS have an equal sign (and possibly a less than or greater
than symbol, depending on the alternative hypothesis). The alternative
hypothesis has a range of values that are alternatives to the one in H0

When we conduct a hypothesis test there a couple of things that could go

wrong. There are two kinds of errors, The errors are : type I and type II errors.

Type I error – reject H0 when H0 is true.

Type II error – do not reject H0 when H0 is false.

1. type I error: In statistics, type I error is defined as an error that occurs

when the sample results cause the rejection of the null hypothesis, in
spite of the fact that it is true. In simple terms, the error of agreeing to
the alternative hypothesis, when the results can be ascribed to chance.
Also known as the alpha error, it leads the researcher to infer that there is
a variation between two observances when they are identical.

E.g. Suppose on the basis of data, the research team of a firm concluded that
more than 50% of the total customers like the new service started by the
company, which is, in fact, less than 50%.
 2. Type II Error: When on the basis of data, the null hypothesis is accepted,
when it is actually false, then this kind of error is known as Type II Error. It
arises when the researcher fails to deny the false null hypothesis. It is
denoted by Greek letter ‘beta (β)’ and often known as beta error.

Type II error is the failure of the researcher in agreeing to an alternative

hypothesis, although it is true. The researcher concludes that the two
observances are identical when in fact they are not.

E.g. Suppose on the basis of sample results, the research team of an

organisation claims that less than 50% of the total customers like the new
service started by the company, which is, in fact, greater than 50%.

BASIS FOR
TYPE I ERROR TYPE II ERROR
COMPARISON

Meaning Type I error refers to non- Type II error is the

acceptance of hypothesis acceptance of hypothesis
which ought to be accepted. which ought to be rejected.

Equivalent to False positive False negative

What is it? It is incorrect rejection of true It is incorrect acceptance of

null hypothesis. false null hypothesis.

Represents A false hit A miss

Probability of Equals the level of Equals the power of test.

committing error significance.

Indicated by Greek letter 'α' Greek letter 'β'

A hypothesis in statistics, is a claim or statement about a property of a population. A
statistical test of hypothesis consists of four parts:

1. A null hypothesis (the questioned hypothesis)

2. An alternative hypothesis (the hypothesis the researcher wishes to support)

3. A test statistic

4. A rejection region