Hypothesis Testing

Question 1

What is a hypothesis?

Answer 1

An hypothesis is a statement made about the value of a population parameter that we wish to test by collecting evidence in the form of a sample

Question 2

Where does the evidence come from in a hypothesis test?

Answer 2

In a statistical hypothesis test the evidence comes from a sample which is summarised in the form of a statistic called the test statistic

Question 3

What are the two hypotheses?

Answer 3

1. The null hypothesis, denoted by Ho, is the hypothesis that we assume to be correct unless proved otherwise
2. The alternative hypothesis, denoted by H1, tells us about the value of the population parameter if our assumption is shown to be wrong

Question 4

What is an hypothesis test?

Answer 4

An hypothesis test is a mathematical procedure to examine a value of a population parameter proposed by the null hypothesis Ho, compared to the alternative hypothesis H1

Question 5

What is the critical region?

Answer 5

The critical region is the range of values of the values of the test statistic that would lead to you rejecting Ho. (Values that collectively have a small chance of happening)

Question 6

What are the critical values?

Answer 6

The critical values are the values on the boundary of the critical region

Question 7

What is the level of significance?

Answer 7

The level of significance (a) is a threshold probability (5% - unlikely, 1% - very unlikely) that is regarded as being unlikely