Question

Previous surveys have found that people tend to quit following their New Years’ Resolutions after 7 days on average. We asked a sample of 16 CSUSM students how long they kept their resolutions and the average length was 10 days with an SS of 240.

Assuming a normal distribution, test the hypothesis that CSUSM students hold their resolutions longer than other people with alpha = .01.

a. Specify the null and alternative hypotheses.

b. Report the df, the critical value, the SE, and the test statistic

c. Report your decision in a sentence

d. Summarize the results of your test in APA format

Answer 1

(a)

H0: Null Hypothesis: = 7 ( CSUSM students do not hold their resolutions longer than other people)

HA: Alternative Hypothesis: > 7 ( CSUSM students hold their resolutions longer than other people) (Claim)

(b)

(i)

df = n - 1 = 16 - 1 = 15

(ii)

= 0.01

From Table, critical value of t = 2.6025

(iii)

s =
SE = s/

= 4/

= 1

So,

SE = 1.00

(iv)

Test statistic is given by:

t = (10 - 7)/1

= 3.00

(c)

Since calculated value of t = 3.00 is greater than critical value of t = 2.6025, the difference is significant. Reject null hypothesis.

Conclusion:

The data support the claim that CSUSM students hold their resolutions longer than other people.

(d)

Summarize the results of your test in APA (American Psychological Association) format :

The Hypothesis Test for testing the claim that CSUSM students hold their resolutions longer than other people with Significance level = = 0.01. is a One Tail - Right Test. The Population mean = = 7. Sample Size = n = 15. Sample mean = = 10. Sample SD = s = 4.00. Test Statistic = t =3.00 is greater than critical value of t = 2.6025, the difference is significant. Reject null hypothesis. The conclusion of the Hypothesis Test is that the data support the claim that CSUSM students hold their resolutions longer than other people.