Question

According to the article, the data was collected through the following means: “For the study, 1,633 participants provided baseline estimates of hand hygiene behavior and coronavirus infections were identified from nasal swabs…At the start of each season, participants were asked to estimate how many times they had washed their hands the previous day. Frequency of daily hand-washing was subsequently categorized as low, zero to five times daily, moderate, six to 10 times daily, or high, more than 10 times daily.”  

3. Assume for this study that the null hypothesis was “no relationship between handwashing and illness” and the alternate hypothesis was “increased handwashing reduces illness”

1. Describe a Type I error in this situation. What are the risks of making a Type I error in this case?  

2. Describe a Type II error in this situation. What are the risks of making a Type II error in this case?

3. Which error do you think is worse in this case? Explain

Answer 1

It is given that

Null hypothesis: No relationship between handwashing and illness.

Alternative hypothesis: Increased handwashing reduces illness.

*Type I error : In general, type I error is rejecting null hypothesis when it is true.

In this situation type I error is falsely accepting that increased handwashing reduces illness when there is no relationship between handwashing and illness.

In this case, risk of making type I error is that the participant's frequency of daily handwashing would increase since they are in belief that increased handwashing reduces illness.

*Type II error : In general, type II error is accepting a null hypothesis when it if false.

In this situation type II error is falsely accepting that there is no relationship between handwashing and illness when it is true that increased handwashing reduces illness.

In this case, risk of making type II error is that the participant's frequency of daily handwashing may reduce which may result in a poor hand hygiene which may make participants more prone to the illness.

Type II error is worse in this case. This is because it may result in making participants more prone to the illness. In fact type I error is good in this case because it may increase participants frequency of daily handwashing which may result in improving hand hygiene and may reduce the chances of becoming prone to the illness.