STATISTICAL INFERENCE

Testing of hypothsis
Inferential statistics
 inferential statistics help you make predictions from the data.
In inferential statistics, the data are taken from the sample
and allows you to generalize the population. In general,
inference means “guess”, which means making inference
about something. So, statistical inference means, making
inference about the population. To take a conclusion about
the population, it uses various statistical analysis techniques.
In this article, one of the types of statistics called inferential
statistics is explained in detail.
Population
 It includes all the elements from the data set and measurable
characteristics of the population such as mean and standard
deviation are known as a parameter. For example, All people
living in Pakistan indicates the population of Pakistan.
 There are different types of population. They are:
 Finite Population
 Infinite Population
 Existent Population
 Hypothetical Population
 Finite Population
 The finite population is also known as a countable population

in which the population can be counted. In other words, it is

defined as the population of all the individuals or objects that
are finite. For statistical analysis, the finite population is more
advantageous than the infinite population. Examples of finite
populations are employees of a company, potential consumer
in a market.
 Infinite Population
 The infinite population is also known as an uncountable

population in which the counting of units in the population is

not possible. Example of an infinite population is the number
of germs in the patient’s body is uncountable.
 Existent Population
 The existing population is defined as the population of concrete

individuals. In other words, the population whose unit is

available in solid form is known as existent population.
Examples are books, students etc.
 Hypothetical Population
 The population in which whose unit is not available in solid form

is known as the hypothetical population. A population consists

of sets of observations, objects etc that are all something in
common. In some situations, the populations are only
hypothetical. Examples are an outcome of rolling the dice, the
outcome of tossing a coin.
Sample

 Sample
 It includes one or more observations that are drawn from the

population and the measurable characteristic of a sample is a

statistic. Sampling is the process of selecting the sample from
the population
Samlping
 Sampling is the technique to draw the sample from the
population .
Population and Sample Examples
 All the people who have the ID proofs is the population and
a group of people who only have voter id with them is the
sample.
 All the students in the class are population whereas the top

10 students in the class are the sample.

 All the members of the parliament is population and the

female candidates present there is the sample.

Parameter vs Statistic
 A parameter is a number describing a whole population (e.g.,
population mean), while a statistic is a number describing a
sample (e.g., sample mean).
Symbols for statistics vs parameters
Sample statistic Population parameter
Proportion S (called “p-hat”) P
Mean [ (called “x-bar”) μ (Greek letter “mu”)
Standard deviation s (Latin letter “s”) σ (Greek letter “sigma”)
Variance s2 σ2
 estimator
 In statistics, an estimator is a rule for calculating an estimate of

a given quantity based on observed data: thus the rule (the

estimator), the quantity of interest (the estimand) and its result
(the estimate) are distinguished. For example, the sample mean
is a commonly used estimator of the population mean.
 Estimation
 Estimation is concerned with inference about the numerical

value of unknown population values from incomplete data such

as a sample
Testing of Hypotheses
 Hypothesis testing is a process of drawing conclusions about
the population parameters on the basis of sample data
 Let's discuss few examples of statistical hypothesis from real-

life
 A teacher assumes that 60% of his college's students come

from lower-middle-class families.

 A doctor believes that 3D (Diet, Dose, and Discipline) is 90%

effective for diabetic patients.

 Null hypothesis
The null hypothesis is the claim that there’s no effect in the
population.
 If the sample provides enough evidence against the claim that

there’s no effect in the population (p ≤ α), then we can reject

the null hypothesis. Otherwise, we fail to reject the null
hypothesis.
 Although “fail to reject” may sound awkward, it’s the only

wording that statisticians accept. Be careful not to say you

“prove” or “accept” the null hypothesis.
Alternative hypothesis
 The alternative hypothesis (Ha) is the other answer to your
research question. It claims that there’s an effect in the
population.
 Often, your alternative hypothesis is the same as your research
hypothesis. In other words, it’s the claim that you expect or
hope will be true.
 The alternative hypothesis is the complement to the null
hypothesis. Null and alternative hypotheses are exhaustive,
meaning that together they cover every possible outcome. They
are also mutually exclusive, meaning that only one can be true
at a time.
 H0 is the symbol for it, and it is pronounced H-naught.

 A sanitizer manufacturer claims that its product kills 95 percent of

germs on average.

 To put this company's claim to the test, create a null and alternate
hypothesis.

 H0 (Null Hypothesis): Average = 95%.

 Alternative Hypothesis (H1): The average is less than 95%.

 below table presents the various hypotheses in the relevant
pairs. For example, if the null hypothesis is equal to some
value, the alternative has to be not equal to that value.

equal (=) not equal (≠)

greater than or equal to (≥) less than (<)

less than or equal to (≤) more than (>)

There are 5 main steps in hypothesis testing:

 State your research hypothesis as a null hypothesis and

alternate hypothesis (Ho) and (Ha or H1).
 Collect data in a way designed to test the hypothesis.
 Perform an appropriate statistical test.
 Decide whether to reject or fail to reject your null hypothesis.
 Present the findings in your results and discussion section.
Step 1: State your null and alternate hypothesis

 After developing your initial research hypothesis (the

prediction that you want to investigate), it is important to
restate it as a null (Ho) and alternate (Ha) hypothesis so that
you can test it mathematically.

 The alternate hypothesis is usually your initial hypothesis that

predicts a relationship between variables. The null hypothesis
is a prediction of no relationship between the variables you
are interested in.
Step 2: Collect data

 For a statistical test to be valid, it is important to perform

sampling and collect data in a way that is designed to test your
hypothesis. If your data are not representative, then you cannot
make statistical inferences about the population you are
interested in.

 Hypothesis testing example

 To test differences in average height between men and women,
your sample should have an equal proportion of men and women,
and cover a variety of socio-economic classes and any other
control variables that might influence average height.
Step 3: Perform a statistical test

 There are a variety of statistical tests available, but they are all
based on the comparison of within-group variance (how
spread out the data is within a category) versus between-
group variance (how different the categories are from one
another).
Step 4: Decide whether to reject or fail to reject your null hypothesis

 Based on the outcome of your statistical test, you will have to

decide whether to reject or fail to reject your null hypothesis.

 In most cases you will use the p-value generated by your

statistical test to guide your decision. And in most cases, your
predetermined level of significance for rejecting the null
hypothesis will be 0.05 – that is, when there is a less than 5%
chance that you would see these results if the null hypothesis
were true.
Step 5: Present your findings

 The results of hypothesis testing will be presented in the

results and discussion sections of your research paper,
dissertation or thesis.

 In the results section you should give a brief summary of the

data and a summary of the results of your statistical test (for
example, the estimated difference between group means and
associated p-value). In the discussion, you can discuss
whether your initial hypothesis was supported by your results
or not.
Type 1 and Type 2 Error
 A hypothesis test can result in two types of errors.

 Type 1 Error: A Type-I error occurs when sample results reject

the null hypothesis despite being true.

 Type 2 Error: A Type-II error occurs when the null hypothesis

is not rejected when it is false, unlike a Type-I error.
Example:
 Suppose a teacher evaluates the examination paper to decide whether a student
passes or fails.

 H0: Student has passed

 H1: Student has failed
 Type I error will be the teacher failing the student [rejects H0] although the student
scored the passing marks [H0 was true].
 Type II error will be the case where the teacher passes the student [do not reject
H0] although the student did not score the passing marks [H1 is true].
Level of Significance
 The alpha value is a criterion for determining whether a test
statistic is statistically significant. In a statistical test, Alpha
represents an acceptable probability of a Type I error. Because
alpha is a probability, it can be anywhere between 0 and 1. In
practice, the most commonly used alpha values are 0.01,
0.05, and 0.1, which represent a 1%, 5%, and 10% chance of a
Type I error, respectively (i.e. rejecting the null hypothesis
when it is in fact correct).
One Sample T Hypothesis Test

 The One Sample T Hypothesis Test (Student’s T Test) allows

to compares the (small) population mean to some
hypothesized value or one sample mean to determine if they
are significantly different.

 For example, if we know the average weight of chickens in a

farm is 3lb, and compare the average weight of sample black
hens to the population mean value.
When Would You Use a One Sample T Hypothesis
Test
 One sample t test is a type of parametric test because the
assumption is samples are randomly distributed. It tests
whether the sample mean is significantly different than a
population mean when the standard deviation of the
population is unknown. Hence t test is used when the
population standard deviation is unknown and the sample
size is below 30, otherwise use Z-test (for known variance)
Assumptions of One Sample T Hypothesis Test
 Data is continuous and quantitative at the scale level (in other
words data in ratio or interval)
 The sample should be randomly selected from the population
 Samples are independent to each other
 Data should follow normal probability distribution
 Assumes it don’t have extreme outliers in the dependent

variable
One Sample T Hypotheis test formula

 Where
 x̅ is observed sample mean
 μ0 is population mean
 s is sample standard

deviation
 n is the number of the

observations in the sample

Steps
 to claim
State the Calculate One
of the test andSample T the
determine Hypothesis Test
null hypothesis
and alternative hypothesis
 Determine the level of significance
 Calculate degrees of freedom
 Find the critical value
 Calculate the test statistics
 Make a decision, the null hypothesis will be rejected if the test

statistic is in the rejection region

 Finally, interpret the decision in the context of the original

claim.
One Sample T Test Hypothesis
 Null hypothesis (H0): The difference between population
mean and the hypothesized value is equal to zero
 Alternative hypothesis (H1):
 The population mean is not equal to hypothesized value

(two-tailed)
 The population mean is greater than hypothesized value

(upper-tailed) right tail

 The population mean is less than hypothesized value

(lower-tailed) left tail

Example of two-tailed test
 Example: According to the
American health association, a
pregnant woman’s average
blood pressure is 120 mm Hg.
Collected 15 random samples
from pregnant women to check
the sample blood pressure is
different from accepted
standard blood pressure.
solutoin
 Null Hypothesis: H0: μ=120
 Alternative Hypothesis: H1: μ≠120
 Significance level: α=0.05

 Degrees of freedom:15-1= 14
Calculate the critical value
 If the calculated t value is less than -2.145 or greater than
2.145, then reject the null hypothesis.
 Test statistics

 x̅ = 123
 μ0 = 120
Interpret the results
 : Compare t calc to t critical . In hypothesis testing, a critical
value is a point on the test distribution compares to the test
statistic to determine whether to reject the null hypothesis.
The calculated t statistic value less than the critical value,
hence we failed to reject null hypothesis.
Right-tailed test

 Example: A software start-up company plans to introduce

company transportation based on the town hall meeting’s
feedback. Admin manager randomly collected 12 employees’
spending on public transportation for the month. With 95%
confidence level, is there any evidence that the population
mean is above $400?
 Null Hypothesis: H0: μ≤400
 Alternative Hypothesis: H1: μ>400
 Significance level: α=0.05
 Sample size n=12
 Degrees of freedom:12-1= 11
Calculate the critical value
 If the calculated t value is greater than 1.796, then, reject
the null hypothesis.
 Calculate the Test statistics
 Sum of all samples =4980
 x̅ = Σx/n = 4980/12=415
 Σ(X-X̅)2 = 17650
 Σ(X-X̅)2 /n-1 = 1604.5
 Standard deviation s = √ Σ(X-X̅)2 /n-1 = 40
 μ0 = 400
 x̅- μ0 =15
 s/√n = 40/√12 = 11.6
Interpret the results:
 Compare t calc to t critical . In hypothesis testing, a critical
value is a point on the test distribution compares to the test
statistic to determine whether to reject the null hypothesis.
Since tcal value is less than t critical value and it is not in the
rejection region. Hence we failed to reject the null hypothesis.
There is no sufficient evidence to claim the population mean
is above $400.
Left-tailed test
 Example: The average waiting time for billing at XYZ
restaurant is 1.9 minutes. The restaurant owner updated the
billing software to reduce the waiting time. He randomly
collected 10 customers waiting time at the billing counter.
With 95% confidence level, is there any evidence that the
population average waiting time is less than 1.9 minutes?
 Null Hypothesis: H0: μ≥1.9
 Alternative Hypothesis: H1: μ<1.9
 Significance level: α=0.05
 Sample size n=10
 Degrees of freedom:10-1= 9
Calculate the critical value
 If the calculated t value is less than -1.833, then reject the
null hypothesis.
 Calculate the test statistics
 Sum of all samples =15.6
 x̅ = Σx/n = 15.6/10=1.56
 Σ(X-X̅)2 = 2.3
 Σ(X-X̅)2 /n-1 = 0.3
 Standard deviation s = √ Σ(X-X̅)2 /n-1 = 0.51
 μ0 = 1.9
 x̅- μ0 =-0.34
 s/√n = 0.51/√10 = 0.16
Interpret the results:
 Compare t calc to t critical . In hypothesis testing, a critical
value is a point on the test distribution compares to the test
statistic to determine whether to reject the null hypothesis.
Since tcal value is less than t critical value and it is in the
rejection region. In other words, the absolute value of t
calculated is greater thaLeft-tailed test
practice example 1
 A professor wants to know if her introductory statistics class
has a good grasp of basic math. Six students are chosen at
random from the class and given a math proficiency test. The
professor wants the class to be able to score above 70 on the
test. The six students get scores of 62, 92, 75, 68, 83, and
95. Can the professor have 95 percent confidence that the
mean score for the class on the test would be above 70?
 Hint:
 null hypothesis: H 0: μ = 70
 alternative hypothesis: H a : μ > 70
practice example 2
 A Little League baseball coach wants to know if his team is
representative of other teams in scoring runs. Nationally, the
average number of runs scored by a Little League team in a
game is 5.7. He chooses five games at random in which his
team scored 5 , 9, 4, 11, and 8 runs. Is it likely that his team's
scores could have come from the national distribution? Assume
an alpha level of 0.05.
 hint:Because the team's scoring rate could be either higher

than or lower than the national average, the problem calls for a
two‐tailed test. First, state the null and alternative hypotheses:
 null hypothesis: H 0: μ = 5.7
 alternative hypothesis: H a : μ ≠ 5.7
Testing Of Hypothesis
Two Sample tests
What is a Two Sample T Hypothesis Test

 A two sample t hypothesis tests also known as independent t-

test is used to analyze the difference between two unknown
population means. The Two-sample T-test is used when the
two small samples (n< 30) are taken from two different
populations and compared. The underlying chart makes use
of the T distribution.
 Two-sample mean testing, also known as two-sample t-test,
is a hypothesis testing method used to compare the means of
two independent groups or samples and determine whether
there is a significant difference between them. This type of
test is commonly used in scientific research and data analysis
to assess whether the means of two populations are
statistically different from each other.
Assumptions of Two Sample T Hypothesis Tests
 The sample should be randomly selected from the two
population
 Samples are independent to each other
 Two sample sizes must me less than 30
 Samples collected from the population are normally

distributed
When Would You Use a Two Sample T Hypothesis
Tests
 The two sample t test most likely used to compare two
process means, when the data is having one nominal variable
and one measurement variable. It is a hypothesis test of
means. Use two sample Z test if the sample size is more than
30.
 Two sample T hypotheis tests are performed when the two

group samples are statistically independent to each other,

while the paired t-test is used to compare the means of two
dependent or paired groups.
Note: There are (2) types of Two Sample T
Hypothesis tests!

 Two Sample T Hypothesis Test (Equal Variance)

 Variance of two populations are equal
 Two Sample T Hypothesis Test (Unequal Variance)
 Variance of two populations are NOT equal
Null hypothesis- Alternative hypothesis
 Null hypothesis- H0: The population means are same
alternatively the difference between two population means are
equal to hypothesized difference (d). So, µ1 = µ2 orµ1– µ2 =
d
 Alternative hypothesis-H : µ1 ≠ µ2 orµ1– µ2 ≠ d (Two-tailed
A
test)
 µ1 < µ2 orµ1– µ2 < d (left-tailed)
 µ1 > µ2 orµ1– µ2 > d (Right-tailed)
Null: The effect equals zero.
Alternative: The effect does not equal zero.
Null: The effect is less than or equal to zero.
Alternative: The effect is greater than zero.
Null: The effect is greater than or equal to zero.
Alternative: The effect is less than zero.
Two Sample T Hypothesis Test (Equal Variance)
formula

Where n1 and n2 are

sample sizes
x̅1 and x̅2 are means
of sample sizes
Sp is the pooled
standard deviation
Steps to Calculate Two Sample T Hypothesis Test
(Equal Variance)
 State the claim of the test and determine the null hypothesis
and alternative hypothesis
 Determine the level of significance
 Calculate degrees of freedom
 Find the critical value
 Calculate the test statistics
 Make a decision, the null hypothesis will be rejected if the test

statistic is less than or equal to the critical value

 Finally, Interpret the decision in the context of the original

claim.
Two-tailed (Equal variance)
 Example: Apple orchard farm owner wants to compare the two
farms to see if there are any weight difference in the apples.
From farm A, randomly collected 15 apples with an average
weight of 86 gms, and the standard deviation is 7. From farm
B, collected 10 apples with an average weight of 80 gms and
standard deviation of 8. With a 95% confidence level, is there
any difference in the farms?
 Null Hypothesis (H0) : Mean apple weight of farm A is equal
to farm B
 Alternative Hypothesis (H1) : Mean apple weight of farm A is

not equal to farm B

 n1=15
 n2=10
 S12=49
 S22 =64
 X̅1 =86
 X̅2 = 80
 Significance level: α=0.05
 Degrees of freedom df: 15+10-2= 23
Calculate critical value
 If the calculated t value is less than -2.069 or
greater than 2.069, then reject the null hypothesis.
 Test Statistic
Interpret the results:
 Compare t calc to t critical . In hypothesis testing, a critical
value is a point on the test distribution compares to the test
statistic to determine whether to reject the null hypothesis.
Calculated t statistic value less than the critical value, hence
failed to reject null hypothesis ( H0). So, there is no significant
difference between mean weights of apples in farm A and
farm B.
SAMPLE T-TEST FOR MEANS (UNEQUAL
VARIANCE)
 Test for equality of two means. This test is used to determine
if the mean of one sample is not equal to the mean of another
sample.
Two Sample T Hypothesis Test (Unequal
Variance) formula

Where n1 and n2 are

sample sizes
S12 & S22 are
variances of sample 1
and sample 2
x̅1 and x̅2 are means
of sample sizes
ASSUMPTIONS
 Observations (data):
 Are Normally distributed.
 Note: Although this method is relatively robust against non-normality
the shape of distribution should at least be symmetric.
 Within and between samples (groups) are independent of each other.
 Are randomly “drawn”.
 Are continuous.
 Depending on some conditions (e.g. wide data range and field of
applications), data that is not continuous (e.g. count) may still be used.
 Not to use certain ratio type data (e.g. proportions and percentages).
 Variances are unknown and estimated by sample variances (S2).
 Variances are not equal, S12 ≠ S22
Steps to Calculate Two Sample T Hypothesis Test
(Unequal Variance)
 Step 1 – Calculate mean (X̅) of each sample
 X̅ = (x1 + x2 + ….+ xn) / n
 Where, x1, x2, …xn are observations in each sample (“n1” =

sample size in sample 1 and “n2” = sample size in sample 2)

 Step 2 – Calculate variance (S2) of each sample
 S2 = {(X̅– x1)2 + (X̅ – x2)2 + … +(X̅ – xn)2} / n-1
 Step 3 – Calculate t value

 Step 4 – Calculate degrees

of freedom (DF)
 Round to nearest integer
Step 5 – Compare t-calc with critical value in the
t-distribution table.
 Look up the t-critical value in t-distribution table given
calculated degrees of freedom in column α (significance
level):
 For 1 tailed test the t-critical is based on the given α
 The commonly used T-critical value for a 1 tailed test is in the

0.05 α column
 For 2 tailed test the t-critical is based on the given α divided

by 2
 The commonly used T-critical value for a 2 tailed test is in the

0.025 α column
INTERPRETATION
 Finally, interpret the decision in the context of the original
claim.
Example
 Example: Dogs are fed with two different diets. Test if the two
diets differ significantly as regards their effect on their
weight. Assuming the population variance is unequal, at 95%
confidence level, is there enough evidence to support the
claim?
 Null Hypothesis (H0) : The mean dog weights are the same
with Diet 1 and Diet 2
 Alternative Hypothesis (H1) : The mean dog weights are not

the same with Diet 1 and Diet 2

 Significance level: α=0.05
 n1=10
 n2=10
 Calculate mean (X̅) of each sample
 X̅1 = (x1 + x2 + ….+ xn) / n =24.4
 X̅2 = (x1 + x2 + ….+ xn) / n =20.00
 Calculate variance (S2) of each sample
 S12 = {(X̅– x1)2 + (X̅ – x2)2 + … +(X̅ – xn)2} / n-1 =25.6
 S22 = {(X̅– x1)2 + (X̅ – x2)2 + … +(X̅ – xn)2} / n-1=56.22
 S12/n1=2.56
 S22/n2=5.62
Calculate critical value

 Calculate the degrees of

freedom
Refer two tailed t table for 16 degrees of freedom
 If the calculated t value is
less than -2.120 or greater
than 2.120, then reject the
null hypothesis.
 Test Statistic
Interpret the results
 Compare t calc to t critical . In hypothesis testing, a critical
value is a point on the test distribution compares to the test
statistic to determine whether to reject the null
hypothesis. Calculated t statistic value is less than the critical
value and it is not in the rejection region, hence we failed to
reject the null hypothesis ( H0). So, the mean dog weights are
the same with Diet 1 and Diet 2.
Paired Samples t-test
 A paired samples t-test is used to compare the means of two
samples when each observation in one sample can be paired
with an observation in the other sample.
A paired samples t-test is commonly used in two scenarios:

1. A measurement is taken on a subject before and after some

treatment – e.g. the max vertical jump of college basketball
players is measured before and after participating in a training
program.
 2. A measurement is taken under two different conditions –

e.g. the response time of a patient is measured on two

different drugs.
 In both cases we are interested in comparing the mean

measurement between two groups in which each observation in

one sample can be paired with an observation in the other
sample.
Paired Samples t-test: Formula
A paired samples t-test always uses the following null hypothesis:

 H0: μ1 = μ2 (the two population means are equal)

 The alternative hypothesis can be either two-tailed, left-
tailed, or right-tailed:
 H1 (two-tailed): μ1 ≠ μ2 (the two population means are not
equal)
 H1 (left-tailed): μ1 < μ2 (population 1 mean is less than
population 2 mean)
 H1 (right-tailed): μ1> μ2 (population 1 mean is greater than
population 2 mean)
We use the following formula to calculate the test statistic t:

 t = xdiff / (sdiff/√n)
 where:
 xdiff: sample mean of the differences
 s: sample standard deviation of the differences
 n: sample size (i.e. number of pairs)
 If the p-value that corresponds to the test statistic t with (n-
1) degrees of freedom is less than your chosen significance
level (common choices are 0.10, 0.05, and 0.01) then you can
reject the null hypothesis.
Paired Samples t-test: Assumptions
 For the results of a paired samples t-test to be valid, the
following assumptions should be met:

 The participants should be selected randomly from the

population.
 The differences between the pairs should be approximately

normally distributed.
 There should be no extreme outliers in the differences.
Paired Samples t-test: Example

 Suppose we want to know whether or not a certain training

program is able to increase the max vertical jump (in inches)
of college basketball players.

 To test this, we may recruit a simple random sample of 20

college basketball players and measure each of their max
vertical jumps. Then, we may have each player use the
training program for one month and then measure their max
vertical jump again at the end of the month.
 To determine whether or not the training program actually
had an effect on max vertical jump, we will perform a paired
samples t-test at significance level α = 0.05 using the
following steps:
Step 1: Calculate the summary data for the differences.
 xdiff: sample mean of the differences = -0.95
 s: sample standard deviation of the differences = 1.317
 n: sample size (i.e. number of pairs) = 20
Step 2: Define the hypotheses.

 We will perform the paired samples t-test with the following

hypotheses:

 H0: μ1 = μ2 (the two population means are equal)

 H1: μ1 ≠ μ2 (the two population means are not equal)
 Step 3: Calculate the test statistic t.

 t = xdiff / (sdiff/√n) = -0.95 / (1.317/√20) = -3.226

 Step 4: Calculate the p-value of the test statistic t.

 According to the T Score to P Value Calculator, the p-value

associated with t = -3.226 and degrees of freedom = n-1 =
20-1 = 19 is 0.00445.
Step 5: Draw a conclusion.

 Since this table value is less than our significance level α =

0.05, we reject the null hypothesis. We have sufficient
evidence to say that the mean max vertical jump of players is
different before and after participating in the training
program
Practice Example 1
 We randomly select 20 calls from each call center and calculate
the average call lengths. The two call centers seem to have
different average call lengths. Is this difference statistically
significant?
 Call Center A: Sample mean, X̄1 = 122 seconds, SD, S1 = 15

seconds, n1 = 20
 Call Center B: Sample mean, X̄2 = 135 seconds, SD, S2 = 20

seconds, n2 = 20
 use a two-sample t-test to determine if the difference between

two sample means is statistically significant. We will use a 95%

confidence level and α = 0.05.
Practice Example 2

An experiment is conducted to determine whether intensive tutoring (covering a great deal of

material in a fixed amount of time) is more effective than paced tutoring (covering less
material in the same amount of time). Two randomly chosen groups are tutored separately
and then administered proficiency tests. Use a significance level of α < 0.05.

HINT: null
hypothesis: H 0: μ 1
=μ2

or H 0: μ 1 – μ 2 = 0

alternative
hypothesis: H a : μ 1
>μ2

or: H a : μ 1 – μ 2 >
0