Hypothesis Testing Procedures Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Hypothesis Testing Procedures - Essay Example When testing hypothesis for a population whose standard deviation is not known, however, a researcher must first consider a sample standard deviation. This is then used to estimate the population standard deviation towards generating the required standard error (Mendenhall, Beaver and Beaver, 2009). In testing for mean, and using the test statistic approach to a two-sided hypothesis for a known standard deviation, a researcher would formulate a two-sided null hypothesis. He would then use the standard deviation to generate the standard error through dividing the standard deviation by square root of the sample size. A test statistic is then determined from the formula, (xÌ„- µ)/standard error and is compared with derived confidence limits from tables using ÃŽ ±/2 confidence level. This distributes the rejection region to either side of the distribution. The test statistic is then compared to the intervals for a decision on whether to reject or not to reject the null hypothesis. For an unknown population standard deviation, a researcher develops a two-sided hypothesis and applies a sample standard deviation to estimate the population standard deviation towards determining the standard error. The researcher then determines the test statistic and confidence intervals using a à Ž ±/2 confidence level, and compares them for a decision (Anderson, Sweeney, Williams, Greenman and Shoesmith,