Significance tests for a population average (mean)
In this section, we’ll dive into significance tests about a mean, which are used to determine whether a sample mean is significantly different from a hypothesized population mean. We’ll cover various aspects, including writing hypotheses, conditions for a t-test, when to use z or t statistics, examples, and one-tailed and two-tailed tests.
Writing hypotheses for a significance test about a mean
When conducting a significance test about a mean, you’ll start by formulating the null and alternative hypotheses:
- Null hypothesis (H0): The null hypothesis states that the population mean (μ) is equal to a specific value (μ0).
- Alternative hypothesis (H1): The alternative hypothesis states that the population mean (μ) is not equal to, less than, or greater than the specific value (μ0), depending on the research question.
Conditions for a t-test about a mean
A t-test is...
