William Oktavec

ENGL 393
Instructions Final Draft
Due: 4/4/19

How to Perform a Hypothesis Test for the Mean of a Data Set

Hypothesis testing is a crucial part of statistical analysis. This allows for statisticians to

test if a sample has the appropriate mean, variance, or distribution based on the population.

Upon completion of the hypothesis test, you will be able to determine

Definitions:
if there is enough evidence to either reject or not reject the Null
 Null Hypothesis - the
Hypothesis. If the null hypothesis were to be rejected then the hypothesis that there is no
significant difference
Alternative Hypothesis is said to have occurred. The alternative between specified
populations, any observed
hypothesis can state that the sample mean is either less than, greater difference being due to
sampling or experimental
than, or different than the population mean, given in the null error
 Alternative Hypothesis - the
hypothesis. hypothesis used in
hypothesis testing that is
To be properly prepared for hypothesis testing one should contrary to the null
hypothesis. It is usually
have paper, writing utensils, a calculator, a table for standard normal taken to be that the
observations are the result
curve areas, and (optional) R or SAS software to check your work. of a real effect
 Type I Error - A type I error
occurs when the null
Step 1: Determine Variables- hypothesis (H₀) is true, but
is rejected. The type I error
rate or significance level is
Analyze your data or given problem and determine the following
the probability of rejecting
the null hypothesis given
variables: Null Hypothesis (H₀), Alternative Hypothesis (Hₐ),
that it is true
Hypothesized Mean (µ₀), Sample Mean (𝑥), population variance (𝜎 2 ),

number of data points (n), and level of Type I error (α). Hint: Type I error can also be stated as

significance level, where 100(1-α)%.

Step 2: Test Statistic-

Calculate your Test Statistic (TS) using the following formula:

𝑥 − µ0
𝑇𝑆 =
√𝜎 2⁄
√𝑛

Step 3: Rejection Region-

Construct the Rejection Region using the table for standard normal curve. Depending on your

alternative hypothesis the rejection region will either be one-sided or two-sided. If Hₐ: µ ≠ µ₀

(a), then the rejection region will be two-sided. If Hₐ: µ < µ₀ (b) or Hₐ: µ > µ₀ (c), then the

rejection region will be one- sided.

Hₐ: µ ≠ µ₀ Hₐ: µ < µ₀ Hₐ: µ > µ₀

Step 4: Critical Values-
Determine the critical values for the rejection region. Using the table below find where
∝
1−∝ = 𝑍, for a one-sided test or 1 − 2 = 𝑍, for a two-sided test.

Example:
α = .05
One-sided:
Z = 1 - .05 = .95
So find where Z = .95, on
the table. There is .9495
at 1.64 and .9505 at 1.65.
Since .95 is exactly in
between we take the
average of 1.64 and 1.65
to get 1.645 as our critical
value.
Two-sided:
.05
𝑍 = 1− = .975
2

So find where Z = .975, on

the table. This occurs at
Once your critical value - Z, is determined, you can compare it to your 1.96. Since it is a two-
calculated test statistic. sided test, there will be
an upper bound and
lower bound. The lower
bound is just the negative
of the critical value.
Hence, upper = 1.96 and
lower = -1.96.
Step 5: Comparison-

Compare the critical value to the test statistic. If Hₐ: µ > µ₀, then the rejection region will be any

value greater than the critical value. If Hₐ: µ < µ₀, then the rejection region will be any value less

than the critical value. When Hₐ: µ ≠ µ₀, then the rejection region will be any value greater than

the absolute value of the critical value.

Step 6: Conclusion-

Now is when to decide whether to reject the null hypothesis or to not reject the null

hypothesis. If the test statistic is within the rejection region then the null hypothesis will be

rejected. However if the test statistic is outside of the rejection region then the null hypothesis

will not be rejected.

Step 7(optional): Find the p-value of the calculated test statistic, using R or SAS software, to

check if correct decision was made. Both of these programs have a ‘help()’ function that can

provide assistance in performing this step.