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The hypothesis test itself has an established process. This can be summarized as follows:

  1. Determine H o and H a . Remember, they are contradictory.
  2. Determine the random variable.
  3. Determine the distribution for the test.
  4. Draw a graph, calculate the test statistic, and use the test statistic to calculate the p-value    . (A z-score and a t-score are examples of test statistics.)
  5. Compare the preconceived α with the p-value, make a decision (reject or do not reject H o ), and write a clear conclusion using English sentences.

Notice that in performing the hypothesis test, you use α and not β . β is needed to help determine the sample size of the data that is used in calculating the p-value. Rememberthat the quantity 1 - β is called the Power of the Test . A high power is desirable. If the power is too low, statisticians typically increase the sample size while keeping α the same. If the power is low, the null hypothesis might not be rejected when it should be.

Practice Key Terms 2

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Source:  OpenStax, Collaborative statistics. OpenStax CNX. Jul 03, 2012 Download for free at http://cnx.org/content/col10522/1.40
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