Question

Discuss each step in the six-step procedure for testing for statistical significance.   Why is it important for research to adhere to this sequence?

Discuss the purpose of calculating measures of association. Pick any 5 measures of association and discuss the purpose of the analysis, the type of data used, and how the results are interpreted.

Answer 1

• Step 1: State the null hypothesis, H0, and the alternative hypothesis, Ha. The alternative hypothesis represents what the researcher is trying to prove. The null hypothesis represents the negation of what the researcher is trying to prove.
• In a criminal trial in the American justice system, the null hypothesis is that the defendant is innocent; the alternative is that the defendant is guilty; either the jury rejects the null hypothesis if they find that the prosecution has presented convincing evidence, or the jury fails to reject the null hypothesis if they find that the prosecution has not presented convincing evidence.
• Step 2: State the size of the sample. This represents the amount of evidence that is being used to make a decision. State the significance level, a, for the test.The significance level is the probability of making a Type I error.
• A Type I error is a decision in favor of the alternative hypothesis when, in fact, the null hypothesis is true. A Type II error is a decision to fail to reject the null hypothesis when, in fact, the null hypothesis is false.
• Step 3: State the test statistic that will be used to conduct the hypothesis test (the appropriate test statistics for the different kinds of hypothesis tests.
• Step 4: Find the critical value for the test. This value represents the cutoff point for the test statistic. If the null hypothesis were true, there would be only a probability of a of obtaining a value of the test statistic that would be at least this extreme. If the value of the test statistic computed from the sample data is beyond the critical value, the decision will be made to reject the null hypothesis in favor of the alternative hypothesis.
• Step 5: Calculate the value of the test statistic, using the sample data. (If you are using Excel or SAS, or some similar computer package, you will calculate the value of the test statistic, along with a p-value.)
• Step 6: Decide, based on a comparison of the calculated value of the test statistic and the critical value of the test, whether to reject the null hypothesis in favor of the alternative. (If you have a calculated p-value, then decide based on a comparison of the p-value with a. If the p-value is less than a, reject H0. Otherwise, fail to reject H0.)
• Due to time limit,remaining questions can be asked as another question,they will be answered,thankyou for your cooperation