PSYC 2002 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Graduate Record Examinations, Statistical Hypothesis Testing, Sampling Error

• School: Carleton University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 2002
• Professor: John Logan

Document Summary

To extend this general procedure to answering probability questions in which a sample is used requires the calculation of se. The mean score of all those taking the verbal subtest of the graduate record exam is 637, with a standard deviation of 43. Hypothesis testing is a statistical procedure in which sample data are used make an inference about the likelihood of a research hypothesis concerning a population. Hypothesis rearing does not guarantee with 100% certainty that the decision is correct. However, testing only indicates that the decision is likely true. Hypothesis testing actually requires the generation of two hypotheses: null hypothesis, alternative (or research) hypothesis. Each hypothesis is mutually exclusive: each defines a unique situation that together encompass all possible outcomes. The null hypothesis states that no difference exists between the population that receives the treatment and the population that does not receive the treatment.