Seat work

A college student is interested in whether there is a difference between male and female
students in the amount of time spent doing volunteer work each week. The student gathers
information from a random sample of male and female students on her campus. The amount of
time volunteering (in minutes) is normally distributed.
Males = 20, 25, 35, 40, 36, 24, 33, 36
Females = 35, 39, 29, 22, 24, 50, 15, 29
● Use appropriate t-tests for this example.
● Follow the steps in hypothesis testing.

1. Research question : Is there a difference between male and female students' time spent
doing volunteer work each week?
2. Hypothesis:
a. Null : There is no difference in time spent between male and females doing
volunteer work
b. Alternative hypothesis : There is a difference in time spent between males and
females doing volunteer work
3. Appropriate Test : Independent samples T-test
4. Alpha level : 0.05
5. Decision Rule : If p< .05, we reject the null hypothesis
6. Run the test.

7. Fail to reject the null hypothesis. There is no significant difference between male and
female students' time spent doing volunteer work each week.
Seatwork
A researcher is interested in whether participating in sports positively influences self-esteem in
young girls. She identifies a group of girls who have not played sports before but are now
planning to begin participating in organized sports. The researcher gives a 50-item self-esteem
inventory before they begin playing sports and administers the same test again after 6 months
of playing sports. The self-esteem inventory is measured on an interval scale, with higher
numbers indicating higher self-esteem. In addition, scores on the inventory are
normally distributed. The scores follow:
Before After
44 46
40 41
39 41
46 47
42 43
43 45
40 39
1. Research question : Is there a positive influence in self-esteem in participating in sports
in young girls?
2. Hypothesis:
a. Null : There is no positive influence in self-esteem in participating in sports in
young girls.
b. Alternative hypothesis : There is a positive influence in self-esteem in
participating in sports in young girls.
3. Appropriate Test : Dependent samples T-test / Paired Sample T-test
4. Alpha level : 0.05
5. Decision Rule : If p< .05, we reject the null hypothesis
6. Run the test.

7. Reject the null hypothesis. There is a positive influence in self-esteem in participating in

sports in young girls.