Practice question · Put in order
Put the steps of a significance test in order.
- Compute a test statistic from the sample data.
- Compare the test statistic to the critical value (or the p-value to alpha).
- Choose an alpha level, such as 0.05.
- Reject or fail to reject the null hypothesis.
- State the null and alternative hypotheses.
Hints
- The decision rule (alpha) must be fixed BEFORE you look at the data's test statistic.
- Hypotheses and alpha come first; the reject/fail-to-reject verdict is the final step.
Show the answer
- State the null and alternative hypotheses.
- Choose an alpha level, such as 0.05.
- Compute a test statistic from the sample data.
- Compare the test statistic to the critical value (or the p-value to alpha).
- Reject or fail to reject the null hypothesis.
Why
Hypotheses and alpha are set in advance, then the data yield a test statistic, which is compared to the threshold to reach a verdict. Choosing alpha before seeing the result is what keeps the false-positive rate honest.
Practise Hypothesis Testing and P-Values
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