23rd SEPTEMBER 2019

UNDERSTANDING THE PATHWAY

& ROAD MAP OF
TESTING OF HYPOTHESIS
 CONTENTS
 Introduction
 What is a Hypothesis
 Characteristics of hypothesis
 Basic concept concerning testing of hypothesis
 Considerations which are kept in view for choice of null
hypothesis
 The level of Significance
 Decision rule or test of hypothesis
 Type I and Type II errors
 Two-tailed test and One-tailed test
- Flow diagram for hypothesis testing
 HYPOTHESIS
1. Hypothesis is usually considered as the principal instrument
in research.
2. Its main function is to suggest new experiments and
observations.
3. Decision makers often face situations wherein they are
interested in testing hypothesis on the basis of available
information and then take decisions on the basis of such
testing.
4. Hypothesis testing enables us to make probability statements
about population parameters.
What is a hypothesis?

 It simply means a mere assumption or some supposition

to be proved or disproved.
 Hypothesis may be defined as a proposition, or a set of
propositions set forth as an explanation for the
occurrence of some specified group of phenomena either
claimed as only a tentative estimate to guide some
investigation or accepted as highly probable in the light
of established facts.
 Research hypothesis is a predictive statement, capable of
being tested by scientific methods, that relates an
independent variable to some dependent variable.
Characteristics of Hypothesis

 Hypothesis should be clear and precise.

 It should be capable of being tested.
 It should state relationship between variables for a relational
hypothesis.
 It should be limited in scope and must be specific.
 It should be stated as far as possible in most simple terms.
 It should be consistent with most known facts.
 It should be amenable to testing within a reasonable time.
 It must explain the facts that gave rise to the need for
explanation.
Basic concept concerning Testing of
Hypothesis
Null Hypothesis and Alternative Hypothesis:

• If we are to compare method A and B about its

superiority and we proceed on the assumption that both
methods are equally good, then the assumption is
termed as null hypothesis.
• As against this, we may think that the method A is
superior or the method B is inferior , we are than
stating what is termed as alternative hypothesis.
• The null hypothesis is symbolized as Ho and the
alternative hypothesis as Ha.
 HOW TO SET HYPOTHESIS

 Suppose we want to test the hypothesis that the population

mean (µ) is equal to the hypothesized mean (µHo)=100.
Then we would say that the null hypothesis is that the
population mean is equal to the hypothesized mean 100 and
symbolically we can express as:
Ho: µ=µHo=100

 If our sample results do not support this null hypothesis,

we should conclude that something else is true. What we
conclude rejecting the null hypothesis(Ho) means accepting
the alternative hypothesis(Ha).
For Ho: µ=µHo=100, we may consider three
possible alternative hypothesis as follows:
Alternative To be read as follows
Hypothesis

Ha:µ≠µHo (The alternative hypothesis is that the population

mean is not equal to 100 i.e., it may be more or less
than 100)

Ha:µ>µHo (The alternative hypothesis is that the population

mean is greater than 100)

Ha:µ<µHo (The alternative hypothesis is that the population

mean is less than 100)
Considerations which are kept in view for choice of null
hypothesis

 Alternative hypothesis is usually the one which one

wishes to prove and null hypothesis is the one which one
wishes to disprove.
 If the rejection of a null hypothesis when it is actually
true involves great risk.
 The probability of rejecting it when it is true is alpha α
(the level of significance) which should be chosen very
small.
 Null hypothesis should be specific ,it should not state
about or approximately, it should be certain value.
 The level of significance

 This is very important concept in the context of

hypothesis testing. It is always some percentage
(usually 5%) which should be chosen with great
care, thought and reason.
 In case we take the significance level at 5%, then
this implies that Ho will be rejected when the sample
result has a less than 0.05 probability of occurring if
Ho is true i.e. it means that there are about 5 chances
in 100 that we will reject Ho when Ho is true.
 With a fixed sample size, n, when we try to reduce type I
error ,the probability of committing type II error increases. Both types
of errors can not be reduced symultaneously.

There is a trade-off between two types of errors, which means that

the probability of making one type of error can only be reduced if we
are willing to increase the probability of making the other type of error .

To deal with this trade off ,decision makers decide the appropriate
level of type I error by examining the cost of penalties attached to both
type of errors.

Example if type I error involves the time and trouble of re working a batch of
chemicals that should have been accepted, where as type II error means taking a chance that an entire group
of users of this chemical compounds will be poisond, than in such a situation one should prefer a type I
error to a type II error.
 Decision rule or test of hypothesis

 Given a hypothesis Ho and an alternative hypothesis Ha,

make a rule which is known as decision rule according to
which we accept Ho(i.e., reject Ha) or reject Ho(i.e., accept
Ha).
 For instance , if Ho is that a certain lot is good ( there are very
few defective items in it ) against Ha, that the lot is not good
(there are too many defective items in it ) then we must decide
the number of items to be tested and the criterion for accepting
or rejecting the hypothesis. We might test 10 items in the lot
and plan our decision saying that if there are none or only 1
defective item among the 10,we will accept Ho other wise we
will reject Ho(accept Ha).this sort of basis is known as
decision rule.
 Decision

Accept Ho Reject Ho

Ho(true) Correct Decision Type I error

(α error)

Ho(false) Type II error Correct Decision

(β error)
 The probability of Type I error is usually determined in
advance and is understood as the level of significance(α)
of testing the hypothesis.
 If type I error is fixed at 5%, it means that there are
about 5 chances in 100 that we will reject Ho when it is
true.
 We can control Type I error just by fixing it at a lower
level.
 Two-tailed and One-tailed tests
A two-tailed test rejects the null hypothesis if,
say, the sample mean is significantly higher or lower
than the hypothesized value of the mean of the
population.
Such a test is appropriate when the null
hypothesis(Ho) is some specified value and the
alternative hypothesis is a value not equal to the
specified value of the null hypothesis.
Symbolically the two-tailed test is appropriate
when we have Ho: µ=µHo and Ha: µ≠µHo
which may mean µ>µHo or µ<µHo
 Acceptance and rejection regions
In case of a TWO-TAILED test
(with 5% significance level)
Acceptance region
(Acceptance Ho if the sample
mean (x̄ ) falls in this region)

Rejection region Rejection region

Limit

Limit
0.475 0.475
of area of area

Both taken together equals

0.95or 95% of area

µHo=µ

Reject Ho if the sample

mean(x̄ ) falls in either of these Z= ±1.96
two regions
 Acceptance and rejection regions
In case of a ONE-TAILED test(left-tail)
(with 5% significance level)
Acceptance region
(Acceptance Ho if the sample mean
(x̄ ) falls in this region)

One

Rejection region
Limit

0.45 0.50
of area of area
0.50
of area
Both taken together equals
0.95or 95% of area

µHo=µ

Reject Ho if the sample

mean(x̄ ) falls in either of these Z= -1.645
two regions
 Acceptance and rejection regions
In case of a ONE-TAILED test(right-tail)
(with 5% significance level)

Acceptance region
(Acceptance Ho if the sample mean
(x̄ ) falls in this region)

One

Rejection region

Limit
0.50 0.45
of area of area

0.50
Both taken together equals of area
0.95or 95% of area
µHo=µ

Reject Ho if the sample

mean(x̄ ) falls in either of these Z= +1.645
two regions
 Procedure for hypothesis testing

 To test a hypothesis means to tell (on the basis of the

data the researcher has collected) whether or not the
hypothesis seems to be valid.

 In hypothesis testing the main question is: whether to

accept the null hypothesis or not to accept the null
hypothesis?

 Procedure of hypothesis testing refers to all those

steps that we
undertake for making a choice between the two
actions i.e., rejection or acceptance of a null
hypothesis.
 Steps involved in hypothesis testing
1. Making a formal statement: The step consists in
making a formal statement of the null hypothesis(Ho)
and also of the alternative hypothesis(Ha). This means
that hypothesis should be clearly stated, considering
the nature of the research problem.
2. Example: Mr. Mohan of the civil engineering
department wants to test the load bearing capacity of
an old bridge which must be 10 tons, in that case he
can state his hypothesis as-
Null Hypothesis Ho: µ=µHo=10 tons
Alternative Hypothesis Ha: µ=µHo< 10 tons
Ex- The average score in an aptitude test
administered at the national level is 80. To
evaluate a state’s education system, the average
score of 100 of the state’s students selected on
random basis was 75. The state wants to know
if there is a significant difference between the
local scores and the national scores. In this
situation the hypothesis stated as:
Null Hypothesis Ho:µ=80
Alternative Hypothesis Ha:µ≠80
 PRACTICAL USE OF TAILED(1&2) TASTE

 It also indicates whether we should use a one-

tailed test or a two-tailed test. If Ha is of the
type greater than (or of the type smaller than),
we use a one-tailed test, but when Ha is of the
type “whether greater or smaller” then we use a
two-tailed test.