Hypothesis Testing - Examples and Case Studies

Hypothesis
Chapter 23
Testing –
Examples and
Case Studies
Copyright ©2005 Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc.

23.1 How Hypothesis Tests
Are Reported in the News
1.  Determine the null hypothesis and the
alternative hypothesis.
2.  Collect and summarize the data into a
test statistic.
3.  Use the test statistic to determine the p-value.
4.  The result is statistically significant if the
p-value is less than or equal to the level of
significance.
Often media only presents results of step 4.
Copyright ©2005 Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. 2
23.2 Testing Hypotheses About
Proportions and Means
If the null and alternative hypotheses are
expressed in terms of a population proportion,
mean, or difference between two means and if
the sample sizes are large …
… the test statistic is simply the corresponding
standardized score computed assuming the null
hypothesis is true; and the p-value is found from
a table of percentiles for standardized scores.

Example 2: Weight Loss for Diet vs Exercise
Did dieters lose more fat than the exercisers?
Diet Only:
sample mean = 5.9 kg
sample standard deviation = 4.1 kg
sample size = n = 42
standard error = SEM1 = 4.1/ √42 = 0.633
Exercise Only:
sample mean = 4.1 kg
sample standard deviation = 3.7 kg
sample size = n = 47
standard error = SEM2 = 3.7/ √47 = 0.540
measure of variability = [(0.633)2 + (0.540)2] = 0.83
Step 1. Determine the null and alternative hypotheses.
Null hypothesis: No difference in average fat lost in population
for two methods. Population mean difference is zero.
Alternative hypothesis: There is a difference in average fat lost in
population for two methods. Population mean difference is not zero.
Step 2. Collect and summarize data into a test statistic.

The sample mean difference = 5.9 – 4.1 = 1.8 kg
and the standard error of the difference is 0.83.
So the test statistic: z = 1.8 – 0 = 2.17
0.83

Step 3. Determine the p-value.
Recall the alternative hypothesis was two-sided.
p-value = 2 × [proportion of bell-shaped curve above 2.17]
Table 8.1 => proportion is about 2 × 0.015 = 0.03.
Step 4. Make a decision.

The p-value of 0.03 is less than or equal to 0.05, so …
•  If really no difference between dieting and exercise as fat
loss methods, would see such an extreme result only 3% of
the time, or 3 times out of 100.
•  Prefer to believe truth does not lie with null hypothesis.
We conclude that there is a statistically significant
difference between average fat loss for the two methods.
Example 3: Public Opinion About President
On May 16, 1994, Newsweek reported the results of a
public opinion poll that asked: “From everything you
know about Bill Clinton, does he have the honesty and
integrity you expect in a president?” (p. 23).
Poll surveyed 518 adults and 233, or 0.45 of them
(clearly less than half), answered yes.
Could Clinton’s adversaries conclude from this that
only a minority (less than half) of the population of
Americans thought Clinton had the honesty and
integrity to be president?

Step 1. Determine the null and alternative hypotheses.
Null hypothesis: There is no clear winning opinion on this issue;
the proportions who would answer yes or no are each 0.50.
Alternative hypothesis: Fewer than 0.50, or 50%, of the population
would answer yes to this question. The majority do not think Clinton
has the honesty and integrity to be president.
Step 2. Collect and summarize data into a test statistic.

Sample proportion is: 233/518 = 0.45.
The standard deviation = (0.50) × (1 – 0.50) = 0.022.
518
Test statistic: z = (0.45 – 0.50)/0.022 = –2.27

Step 3. Determine the p-value.
Recall the alternative hypothesis was one-sided.
p-value = proportion of bell-shaped curve below –2.27
Exact p-value = 0.0116.
Step 4. Make a decision.

The p-value of 0.0116 is less than 0.05, so we conclude
that the proportion of American adults in 1994 who
believed Bill Clinton had the honesty and integrity they
expected in a president was significantly less than a
majority.

23.3 Revisiting Case Studies:
How Journals Present Tests
Whereas newspapers and magazines
tend to simply report the decision from
hypothesis testing, journals tend to
report p-values as well.
This allows you to make your own
decision, based on the severity of a
type 1 error and the magnitude of
the p-value.

Case Study 5.1: Quitting Smoking with
Nicotine Patches
Compared the smoking cessation rates for smokers
randomly assigned to use a nicotine patch versus a
placebo patch.
Null hypothesis: The proportion of smokers in the
population who would quit smoking using a nicotine
patch and a placebo patch are the same.
Alternative hypothesis: The proportion of smokers
in the population who would quit smoking using a
nicotine patch is higher than the proportion who
would quit using a placebo patch.
Case Study 5.1: Quitting Smoking with
Nicotine Patches
Higher smoking cessation rates were observed in the active

nicotine patch group at 8 weeks (46.7% vs 20%) (P < .001)
and at 1 year (27.5% vs 14.2%) (P = .011).
(Hurt et al., 1994, p. 595)
Conclusion: p-values are quite small: less than 0.001

for difference after 8 weeks and equal to 0.011 for
difference after a year. Therefore, rates of quitting are
significantly higher using a nicotine patch than using
a placebo patch after 8 weeks and after 1 year.

Case Study 6.4: Smoking During
Pregnancy and Child’s IQ
Study investigated impact of maternal smoking on
subsequent IQ of child at ages 1, 2, 3, and 4 years of age.
Null hypothesis: Mean IQ scores for children whose mothers

smoke 10 or more cigarettes a day during pregnancy are same
as mean for those whose mothers do not smoke, in populations
similar to one from which this sample was drawn.
Alternative hypothesis: Mean IQ scores for children whose
mothers smoke 10 or more cigarettes a day during pregnancy
are not the same as mean for those whose mothers do not
smoke, in populations similar to one from which this sample
was drawn.
Case Study 6.4: Smoking During
Pregnancy and Child’s IQ
Children born to women who smoked 10+ cigarettes per day
during pregnancy had developmental quotients at 12 and 24
months of age that were 6.97 points lower (averaged across
these two time points) than children born to women who did
not smoke during pregnancy (95% CI: 1.62,12.31, P = .01);
at 36 and 48 months they were 9.44 points lower (95% CI:
4.52, 14.35, P = .0002). (Olds et al., 1994, p. 223)
Researchers conducted two-tailed tests for possibility the

mean IQ score could actually be higher for those whose
mothers smoke. The CI provides evidence of the direction in
which the difference falls. The p-value simply tells us there
is a statistically significant difference.
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Hypothesis

Copyright ©2005 Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc.

Copyright ©2005 Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. 3

Step 2. Collect and summarize data into a test statistic.

Copyright ©2005 Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. 5

Step 4. Make a decision.

Copyright ©2005 Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. 7

Step 2. Collect and summarize data into a test statistic.

Copyright ©2005 Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. 8

Step 4. Make a decision.

Copyright ©2005 Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. 9

Copyright ©2005 Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. 10

Higher smoking cessation rates were observed in the active

Conclusion: p-values are quite small: less than 0.001

Copyright ©2005 Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. 12

Null hypothesis: Mean IQ scores for children whose mothers

Researchers conducted two-tailed tests for possibility the

Copyright ©2005 Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. 15

Copyright ©2005 Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. 16

Copyright ©2005 Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. 17

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