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5HypothesisTesting FINAL
5HypothesisTesting FINAL
Objectives:
Students should know what alpha, beta, power, and p-values are
-4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4
Steps in Statistical
Hypothesis Testing
1. Formulate null and research hypotheses
4. Draw conclusion
Step 1: Formulate Null and
Research Hypotheses
Null Hypothesis (H0):
There is no difference between groups;
there is no relationship between the independent and
dependent variable(s).
Non- Non-
Rejection Rejection
Region Rejection
Rejection Region Rejection Region
Region Region 5.0%
2.5% 2.5%
Example:
Directional vs Non-directional
Research question: Does age of onset of paranoid schizophrenia differ for
males and females?
Non-directional (two-tailed):
Non-
H0: Male Age = Female Age Rejection
Rejection
Region Rejection
HR: Male Age Female Age Region Region
2.5% 2.5%
Directional (one-tailed):
Non-
H0: Male Age Female Age Rejection
Rejection
Region
HR: Male Age > Female Age Region
5.0%
(or the opposite)
Step 2: Set Alpha (Type I) and
Beta (Type II) Errors
Alpha () is the level of significance in hypothesis testing:
Example:
alpha = 0.05; calculated p-value = 0.008; reject null hypothesis
alpha = 0.05; calculated p-value = 0.110; do not reject null
hypothesis
Step 3
Compute statistical test and determine statistical
significance
n mean age SD
Male 12 26.8 5.8
Female 12 29.6 6.2
(x1 x 2 )
Test statistic: t
SE(x1 x 2 )
Example of a statistical test: two-sample t test
Conclusion:
The mean age of onset is not different for males versus
females
Is the post treatment mortality different for patients
receiving CABG compared to patients receiving
PTCA?
There are a number of statistical tests that can be
used:
2 examples are 1) chi-square test, or 2) z test for
proportions. The resulting p values will be the
same regardless of the test used.
Step 4
Draw conclusion about the population
based on the results of the statistical test
on the sample
BUT
For example, alpha = 0.05 for a 2-sided statistical test is equivalent to a 95%
confidence interval
Non-
Rejection
Rejection Region Rejection
Region Region
2.5% 2.5%
AND
For this reason, most medical journals now prefer that results be
presented with confidence intervals rather than p values.
If the NULL VALUE for a statistical hypothesis test using alpha = 0.05
is contained within the 95% confidence interval,
we can conclude NO statistical significance at alpha = 0.05
without doing the hypothesis test:
P Values vs. Confidence Intervals
Example:
If the 95% CI includes the value zero, the differences are not statistically
significant at alpha = 0.05.
For the test comparing the ages of males and females for onset of
paranoid schizophrenia, the null hypothesis is that the difference in age
is zero years.
P Values vs. Confidence Intervals
Example:
n mean age SD
Male 12 26.8 5.8
Female 12 29.6 6.2