Hypothesis

Hypothesis: A statistical hypothesis is an assertion or statement about a population or equivalently about

the probability distribution characterizing a population, which we want to verify on the basis of information
contained in a sample.
Examples:
➢ A rickshaw puller hypothesizes that more than fifty percent of our politicians are corrupted.
➢ A popular band singer claims that copy right rule will never be effective in our country.
Test of a statistical hypothesis: A test of a statistical hypothesis is a two-action decision problem after the
experimental sample values have been obtained, the two-actions being the acceptance or rejection of the
hypothesis under consideration.
Null hypothesis: Null means the possible rejection of the hypothesis. Null hypothesis is a statement, which
tells us that no difference exists between the parameter and the statistic being compared to it. Null
hypothesis is always denoted by 𝐻0 .
Example: There is no difference in the population between the rates of prevalence of malnutrition between
the male and female children.
Alternative hypothesis: The alternative hypothesis is the logical opposite of the null hypothesis.
Alternative hypothesis is usually denoted by 𝐻1 or 𝐻𝑎 .
Example: There exists significant difference in the population between the rates of prevalence of
malnutrition between the male and female children.
𝐻0 : There is no association between level of education and knowledge of child nutrition among women.

𝐻1 : The level of education and knowledge of child nutrition among women are associated.
Simple hypothesis: If a hypothesis completely specifies the distribution of a population, it is called a simple
hypothesis. Suppose, for example, that a coin is tossed 30 times ( 𝑛 = 30 ) to determine whether the coin
is an ideal one. Then, the hypothesis 𝐻: 𝑝 = 0.50 is a simple hypothesis since it completely specifies the
population distribution.
Composite hypothesis: If a hypothesis does not completely specify the population distribution, it is called
a composite hypothesis. In the above coin-tossing example, if we do not specify that 𝑛 = 30 , then the
hypothesis 𝐻 ∶ 𝑝 = 0.50 would be a composite hypothesis.
One-test: A test of any statistical hypothesis where the alternative is one-sided such as

𝐻0 : 𝜇 = 𝜇0

𝐻1 : 𝜇 > 𝜇0

or perhaps, 𝐻0 ∶ 𝜇 = 𝜇,

𝐻1 ∶ 𝜇 < 𝜇
is called a one-sided test.
Two-tailed test: A test of any statistical hypothesis where the alternative is two-sided such as

𝐻0 : 𝜇 = 𝜇0
𝐻1 : 𝜇 ≠ 𝜇0
is called a two-tailed test.

Type I error: The error of rejecting 𝐻0 (accepting 𝐻1 ) when 𝐻0 is true is called type I error. The probability
of type I error is denoted by 𝛼 and it is called the level of significance.

Type II error: The error of accepting 𝐻0 when 𝐻0 is false (𝐻1 is true) is called type II error. The probability
of type II error is denoted by 𝛽.
Power of the test: 1 − 𝛽 , that is the probability of rejecting 𝐻0 when 𝐻0 is false ( 𝐻1 is true) is called the
power of the test hypothesis 𝐻0 against the alternative hypothesis 𝐻1 .The value of the power function at a
parameter point is called the power of the test at that point.
p-value: The p-value or observed significance level of a test is the smallest value of a for which 𝐻0 can be
rejected. The decision rules, which most researchers follow in stating their results, are as follows:
➢ If p-value is less than 0.01, the results are regarded as highly significant.
➢ If p-value is between 0.01 and 0.05, the results are regarded as statistically significant.
➢ If p-value is between 0.05 and 0.1, the results are regarded as only tending toward statistical
significance.
➢ If p-value is greater than 0.10, the results are regarded as not statistically significant.
Critical region or rejection region: A region of rejection is a set of possible values of the sample statistic,
which provides evidence to contradict the null hypothesis and leads to a decision to reject the null
hypothesis.
Acceptance region: A region of acceptance is a set of possible values of the sample statistic, which
provides evidence to support the null hypothesis and lead to a decision to accept it.
Test statistic: The statistic used to provide evidence about the null hypothesis is called the test statistic.
One-sample mean test: The one sample mean test is used when you have data from a single sample of
participants and you wish to know whether the mean of the population from which the sample is drawn is
the same as the hypothesized mean.
Assumptions: The assumptions underlying all types of mean test are:
1. Scale of measurement- the data should be at the interval or ratio level of measurement.
2. Random sampling- the scores should be randomly sampled from the population of interest.
3. Normality- the scores should be normally distributed in the population.
Clearly, assumptions 1 and 2 are a matter of research design and not statistical analysis. Assumption 3 can
be tested in a number of different ways.
Three cases in testing a single mean:

Case 1: when 𝜎 known

𝑋̅ −𝜇0
𝑍= 𝜎⁄ ∼ 𝑁(0,1).
√𝑛

Case 2: when 𝜎 unknown and sample size large (𝑛 ≥ 30)

𝑋̅ −𝜇0
𝑍= 𝑠⁄ ∼ 𝑁(0,1).
√𝑛

Case 3: when 𝜎 unknown and sample size small (𝑛 < 30)

𝑋̅ −𝜇0
𝑡= 𝑠⁄ ∼ 𝑡(𝑛−1).
√𝑛

Suppose you are using the data set [Link] and you want to test whether the college graduates’ work 40
hours in a week.
The null and alternative hypotheses are:
𝐻0 : In the population, the average work hour of college graduates is 40 hours per week.

𝐻1 : In the population, the average work hour of college graduates is not 40 hours per week.
To conduct a one sample t-test
1. Select the Analyze menu.
2. Click on Compare Means and then One-Sample T Test... to open the One-Sample T Test
dialogue box.
3. Select the variable you require (hrs1) and click on the button to move the variable into the Test
Variable(s): box.
4. In the Test Value: box type the mean score (i.e., 40).
5. Click on Ok.
Syntax:-
T-TEST
/TESTVAL=40
/MISSING=ANALYSIS
/VARIABLES=hrs1
/CRITERIA=CI(.95) .
 One-Sample Test

Test Value = 40

t df Sig. (2-tailed) Mean 95% Confidence Interval of the

Difference Difference

Lower Upper

Number of hours worked

20.478 1496 .000 5.627 5.09 6.17
last week

The probability of observing a sample t value greater than +20.478 or less than -20.478 is given by the entry
labeled sig. (2-talied). Since the observed significance level is smaller than 0.05, we can conclude that the
null hypothesis can be rejected and it’s quite unlikely that college graduates work a 40-hour week on
average.
Tests with two samples: One-sample mean test was used to determine whether a single sample of scores
was likely to have been drawn from a hypothesized population. Now we will extend the understanding of
sampling distributions to ask whether two sets of scores are random samples from the same or different
populations. If they are random samples from the same population, then any differences across conditions
or groups can be attributed to random sampling variability. However, if the two sets of scores are random
samples from different populations, then we can attribute any difference between means across conditions
to the independent variable or the treatment effect.
Repeated measures t-test: The repeated measures t-test, also referred to as the dependent-samples or
paired t-test, is used when you have data from only one group of participants. In other words, an individual
obtains two scores under two different conditions. Studies which employ a pretest-posttest design are
commonly analyzed using repeated measures t-test.
Assumptions: The repeated measures t-test has one additional assumption:
Normality of population difference scores- the difference between the scores for each participant should
be normally distributed. Providing the sample size is not small (30 +), violations of this assumption are of
little concern. The null hypothesis for a paired design is that there is no difference between the average
values for the two members of a pair in the population. In other words, the average population difference
is zero. The alternative hypothesis is that there is a difference in the average values.
̅−μd
d ̅
d
Test statistic: - t = sd = sd ∼ t (n−1)
⁄ ⁄
√n √n

Where 𝑑𝑖 = 𝑥𝑖 − 𝑦𝑖

Suppose you are using the data set [Link] and you want to test whether average 𝛽 -endorphin levels
changed during a run. (𝛽 -endorphins are morphine-like substances manufactured in the body).
To conduct a repeated measures t-test
1. Select the Analyze menu.
2. Click on Compare Means and then Paired-Samples T Test... to open the Paired-Sample T Test
dialogue box.
3. Select the variables you require (i.e., before and after) and press button to move the variables into
the Paired Variables: box.
4. Click on Ok.
Output:

From the table, the observed significance level is small (less than 0.05). So, you can reject the null
hypothesis that the 𝛽 -endorphin levels do not change during a run.

Independent Sample T Test: An independent group’s t-test is appropriate when different participants have
performed in each of the different conditions- in other words, when the participants in one condition are
different from the participants in the other condition. This is commonly referred to as a between-subjects
design.
Examples:

• We might compare the smoking habit of a sample of women with that among the men to see if
there is any difference between sexes with respect to smoking habit.
• A manager of an industrial firm may study the workers’ productivity from two groups or different
sample.
The null and alternative hypotheses are:

H0 : μ1 = μ2 Vs H1 : μ1 ≠ μ2
Case1: when population variances known
̅𝑥̅̅1̅−𝑥
̅̅̅2̅
𝑍= ∼ 𝑁(0,1)
𝜎 𝜎2 2
√ 1+ 2
𝑛1 𝑛2

Case 2: when population variances unknown but the samples are large.
̅𝑥̅̅1̅−𝑥
̅̅̅2̅
𝑍= ∼ 𝑁(0,1)
𝑠2 𝑠2
√ 1+ 2
𝑛1 𝑛2
Case3: when population variances unknown (assumed equal) and the samples are small
̅𝑥̅̅1̅−𝑥
̅̅̅2̅
𝑡=
𝑠 𝑠 2 2
√ 𝑝+ 𝑝
𝑛 𝑛 1 2

̅𝑥̅̅1̅−𝑥
̅̅̅2̅
= 1 1
∼ 𝑡(𝑛1 +𝑛2 −2)
𝑠𝑝 √𝑛 +𝑛
1 2

(𝑛1−1)𝑠12 +(𝑛2 −1)𝑠22

Where 𝑠𝑝2 = 𝑛1 +𝑛2 −2

Case4: when population variances unknown (assumed unequal) and the samples are small
̅𝑥̅̅1̅−𝑥
̅̅̅2̅
𝑧= ∼ 𝑡(𝑣)
𝑠2 𝑠2
√ 1+ 2
𝑛1 𝑛2

𝑠2 2
1 + 𝑠2
𝑛1 𝑛2
Where 𝑣 = 𝑠2 𝑠2
1⁄ 2⁄
𝑛1 𝑛2
+
𝑛1 −1 𝑛2 −1

Suppose you use the data file [Link] and your interest is to check whether internet users and nonusers
watch television equal number of hours per day.
The null and alternative hypotheses for the problem in hand are:
𝐻0 ∶ The average hours of television viewing are the same in the population for internet users and non-
users.

𝐻1 ∶The average hours of television viewing are not the same in the population for internet users and non-
users.
To conduct an independent groups t-test
1. Select the Analyze menu.
2. Click on Compare Means and then Independent Samples T Test... to open the Independent
Samples T Test dialogue box.
3. Select the Test Variable(s) (i.e., tvhours) and then click on the button to move the variable(s) into
the Test Variable(s): box.
4. Select the grouping variable (i.e., usenet) and click on the button to move the variable into the
Grouping Variable: box.
5. Click on the Define Groups... command push button to open the Define Groups Subdialogue:
box.
6. In the Group1: box, type the lowest value for the variable (i.e., 0), then tab. Enter the second value
for the variable (i.e., 1) in the Group2: box.
7. Click on Continue and then Ok.
Output:

Given that Levene’s test has a probability less than 0.05; you can assume that the population variances are
relatively unequal. Therefore, you can use the t-value, degrees of freedom and two tailed significances for
the unequal variance estimates to determine whether differences exist between internet users and non-users.
The observed two-tailed significance level is less than 5%, so you may reject the null hypothesis and
conclude that internet users and non-users do not watch the same average number of hours of television.
Testing Independence of Variables: More often, we ask questions concerning the interrelationships
between variables. For example, we ask
1. Is there a difference in the crime rate between children of poor families and those of elite or rich
families?
2. Is there a difference in the prevalence of malnutrition between the rural children and urban
children?
All the questions raised above have same common characteristics:

• They deal with two or more nominal or ordinal categories

• The categories are non-overlapping
• The data consist of a frequency count
• The data can be cross-classified to fall into several categories of the row and column variables
Let us designate the two attributes as A and B where, attribute A is assumed to have r categories and
attribute B is assumed to have c categories. Furthermore, assume the total number of observations in the
problem is N. A representation of these observations is shown below in a table where 𝑂𝑖𝑗 represents the
observations in the ith row and jth column. Such a table in the matrix form is called a contingency table and
is shown below:
 𝐵1 𝐵2 𝐵𝑗 𝐵𝑐 Total
𝐴1 𝑂11 𝑂12 ⋯ 𝑂1𝑗 … 𝑂1𝑐 𝑅1

𝐴2 𝑂21 𝑂22 ⋯ 𝑂2𝑗 ⋯ 𝑂2𝑐 𝑅2

⋮ ⋮ ⋮ ⋮ ⋮

𝐴𝑖 𝑂𝑖1 𝑂𝑖2 𝑂𝑖𝑗 𝑂𝑖𝑐

𝑅𝑖
⋮ ⋮ ⋮ ⋮ ⋮

𝐴𝑟 𝑂𝑟1 𝑂𝑟2 𝑂𝑟𝑗 𝑂𝑟𝑐

𝑅𝑟

Total 𝐶1 𝐶2 𝐶𝑗 𝐶𝑐

In the table, 𝑅𝑖 is the total of ith row and 𝐶𝑗 is the total of jth column. The frequencies in these cells are
termed as cell frequencies and the totals of the frequencies in each of the rows (𝑅𝑖 ) and columns (𝐶𝑗 ) are
termed as marginal frequencies.
In the analysis of contingency table, the objective is to determine whether or not one method of
classification is ‘contingent’ or ‘dependent’ on the other method of classification. If not, then the two
methods of classification are said to be ‘independent’. The null hypothesis to be tested in the contingency
table is that A and B are independent, that is there is no association or relationship between the two variables.
If two criteria of classification are independent, a joint probability is equal to the product of the two
corresponding marginal probabilities. Thus, the expected cell frequencies are given by the formula:
𝑅𝑖 𝐶𝑗 𝑅𝑖 ×𝐶𝑗
𝐸𝑖𝑗 = × ×𝑁 =
𝑁 𝑁 𝑁

To conduct the test, we use 𝜒 2 statistic

(𝑂𝑖𝑗 −𝐸𝑖𝑗 )2 2
𝜒 2 = ∑𝑟𝑖=1 ∑𝑐𝑗=1 − 𝑁 ∼ 𝜒(𝑟−1)(𝑐−1)
𝐸𝑖𝑗
Suppose you use the data file [Link] and you want to check the association between sex and attitude
of opening door. The null hypothesis is that the percentage opening doors for strangers is the same for men
and women. Another way of stating the null hypothesis is that gender and response are independent.
To conduct the Chi-square test
1. Select the Analyze menu.
2. Click on Descriptive Statistics and then Crosstabs... to open the Crosstabs dialogue box.
3. Select the Row Variable(s) (i.e., sex) and then click on the button to move the variable(s) into the
Row(s): box. Also select the Column Variable(s) (i.e., opendoor) and then click on the button to
move the variable(s) into the Column(s): box.
4. Click on the Statistics... command push button to open the Crosstabs: Statistics Subdialogue:
box and then select Chi-square.
5. Click on Continue and then Ok.
Output:

Chi-Square Tests

Value df Asymp. Sig. (2- Exact Sig. (2- Exact Sig. (1-
sided) sided) sided)

Pearson Chi-Square 3.318a 1 .069

Continuity Correctionb 2.870 1 .090
Likelihood Ratio 3.354 1 .067
Fisher's Exact Test .075 .045
Linear-by-Linear
3.314 1 .069
Association
N of Valid Cases 1010

a. 0 cells (0.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 32.15.
b. Computed only for a 2x2 table

Based on the observed significance level for the chi-square statistic, you cannot reject the null hypothesis
that men and women are equally likely to report that they open doors for strangers. The observed
significance level is 0.069, which is greater than the customary 0.05.