Researchers are interested in answering many types of questions.

For example,
i. A scientist might want to know whether the earth is warming up.
ii. A physician might want to know whether a new medication will lower a
person’s blood pressure.
iii. An educator might wish to see whether a new teaching technique is better than
a traditional one.
iv. A retail merchant might want to know whether the public prefers a certain
color in a new line of fashion.
These types of questions can be addressed through statistical hypothesis testing,
which is a decision-making process for evaluating claims about a population.
Population and Sample

A population is the entire group that you want to draw conclusions about.
Sample
A sample data set contains a part, or a subset, of a population. The size of sample is
always less than the size of the population from which it is taken.
Parameter
It is a measure of a characteristic of an entire population, for example mean
of population.
Statistic
It is a measure of a characteristic of a sample, for example mean of sample.
 Sample (statistic) Population (parameter)
𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛 = 𝑥̅ 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛 = 𝜇
𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑑𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 = 𝑠 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑑𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 = 𝜎
𝑣𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 = 𝑠 2 𝑣𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 = 𝜎 2
𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 = 𝑝̂ 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 = 𝑝

Hypothesis Testing Common Phrases

> <
Is greater than Is less than
Is above Is higher than Is lower than Is below
Is longer than Is shorter than
Is bigger than Is smaller than
Is increased Is decreased or reduced from
= ≠
Is equal to Is not equal to
Is the same as Is different from
Has not changed from Has changed from
Is the same as Is not the same as
Steps in Hypothesis Testing
Step 1
A statistical hypothesis is a conjecture about a population parameter. This
conjecture may or may not be true.
There are two types of statistical hypotheses for each situation: the null hypothesis
and the alternative hypothesis.
Null Hypothesis
The null hypothesis, symbolized by 𝐻0 , is 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. It must contain equality sign.
Alternative Hypothesis
The alternative hypothesis, symbolized by 𝐻1 , is 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.
Q: For each conjecture, state null hypothesis and the alternative hypothesis.
i. A medical researcher claims that average pulse rate of the patients who take
the medication is 82.
Sol
Claim: 𝜇 = 82
𝐻0 : 𝜇 = 82
𝐻1 : 𝜇 ≠ 82 [Two tailed test]
ii. A chemist invents an additive to increase the mean life of an automobile
battery from 36 months.
Sol
Claim: 𝜇 > 36
𝐻0 : 𝜇 = 36
𝐻1 : 𝜇 > 36 [Right tailed test]
iii. A contractor wishes to lower heating bills by using a special type of insulation
in houses. The average of the monthly heating bills is $78.
Sol
Claim: 𝜇 < 78
𝐻0 : 𝜇 = 78
𝐻1 : 𝜇 < 78 [Left tailed test]
iv. An engineer hypothesizes that the mean number of defects can be decreased in
a manufacturing process of compact disks by using robots instead of humans for
certain tasks. The mean number of defective disks per 1000 is 18.
Sol
Claim: 𝜇 < 18
𝐻0 : 𝜇 = 18
𝐻1 : 𝜇 < 18 [Left tailed test]
v. A psychologist feels that playing soft music during a test will change the
results of the test. The psychologist is not sure whether the grades will be higher or
lower. In the past, the mean of the scores was 73.
Sol
Claim: 𝜇 ≠ 73
𝐻0 : 𝜇 = 73
𝐻1 : 𝜇 ≠ 73 [Two tailed test]
Step 2 Find the critical value(s).
The critical value separates the rejection region from the acceptance region. The
symbol for critical value is C.V.

Finding the critical values depends on value of 𝛼 and which tailed test it is.
We are going to discuss again three types to find critical value. The significance
level, also denoted as alpha or α, is the probability of rejecting the null hypothesis.
For example if 𝛼 = 0.05 then it means that there is 5% chance to reject 𝐻0 .
Type I: Finding critical value for two tailed test.

Let us suppose that 𝛼 is given as 0.01. Calculate 1 − 𝛼 = 0.99

Since it is two tailed test so divided the value of 1 − 𝛼 by 2
1 − 𝛼 0.99
= = 0.495
2 2
In z-table find the value that is closest to 0.495 which is .4951. critical value will be 2.58 as
explained below. Write this value on the boundary of regection region as shown in fig above.
Type II: Finding critical value for Right tailed test.

Let us suppose that 𝛼 is given as 0.05. Calculate 1 − 𝛼 = 0.95

Since it is right tailed test so subtract 0.5 (half area) from the value of 1 − 𝛼
(1 − 𝛼 ) − 0.5 = 0.95 − 0.5 = .45
In z-table find the value that is closest to 0.45, which is .4505. critical value will be 1.65 as
explained below. Write this value on the boundary of regection region as shown in fig above.
Type III: Finding critical value for Left tailed test.

Let us suppose that 𝛼 is given as 0.05. Calculate 1 − 𝛼 = 0.95

Since it is right tailed test so subtract 0.5 (half area) from the value of 1 − 𝛼
(1 − 𝛼 ) − 0.5 = 0.95 − 0.5 = .45
In z-table find the value that is closest to 0.45, which is .4505. critical value will be 1.65 as
explained below. Write this value on the boundary of regection region as shown in fig above.
Step 3 Compute the test value.
Put the values in formula.

Step 4 Make the decision to reject or not reject the null hypothesis.