This chapter discusses the fundamentals of hypothesis testing, including:
- The basic process involves stating a null hypothesis, collecting sample data, calculating a test statistic, and determining whether to reject or fail to reject the null hypothesis based on critical values.
- Type I and Type II errors can occur depending on whether the null hypothesis is true or false and the decision that is made. Researchers aim to control the level of Type I errors.
- Hypothesis tests for a mean can use a z-test if the population standard deviation is known, or a t-test if it is unknown. The p-value approach compares the calculated p-value to the significance level to determine whether to reject the null hypothesis.