In-Depth Discussion of Hypothesis Testing

Chapter 7: Hypothesis Testing -- Part I

The general research question and the research hypothesis

Null and alternative hypotheses (Ho and Ha)

Exact and Inexact null hypotheses

Directional and nondirectional null hypotheses

One-tailed and two-tailed tests

The level of significance (a)

The calculated value (i.e., test statistic)

The p-value

The critical value

Rejecting and failing-to-reject Ho

Type I and Type II errors

Failing-to-reject Ho versus accepting Ho

Why Ho is set up to be rejected

The importance of Ho to the conclusions reached

Unstated null and alternative hypotheses

The true meaning of "statistically significant"

Chapter 8: Hypothesis Testing -- Part II

Practical significance vs. statistical significance

Eta squared and omega squared

Effect size (raw and standardized)

Statistical power

Alpha error and beta error

Cohen's standards for small, medium, and large effects

Computing the proper sample size

Using confidence intervals to test null hypotheses

Inflated Type I error rates

The Bonferroni correction technique

The Dunn-Sidak modification

Experimentwise Type I error rate

Chapter 9: Statistical Testing and the Hybrid Approach to Testing Ho

Significance testing

The hybrid approach to testing null hypotheses

Comparing the p-level vs. the a-level

Marginal significance

Trend toward significance

Borderline significance

Highly significant

The use of multiple asterisks

Reports that p = .0000

Bracketing p (e.g., .01 < p < .05)

The true meaning of p

Copyright © 2003 Schuyler W. Huck
All rights reserved.