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You are doing a hypothesis test and find a test statistic of 1.9 with a sample size of 21. You then use that test statistic to find a p-value of 0.029. If your significance level is 0.03, which of the following do you do?

1) Reject the null hypothesis
2) Fail to reject the null hypothesis
3) Cannot determine based on the given information
4) None of the above

1 Answer

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Final answer:

Given a test statistic of 1.9 and a p-value of 0.029 against a significance level of 0.03, you should reject the null hypothesis as the p-value is less than the significance level.

Step-by-step explanation:

In hypothesis testing, we compare the p-value to our predetermined level of significance, denoted as α (alpha), to decide whether to reject the null hypothesis. Given a test statistic of 1.9 with a sample size of 21, you have calculated a p-value of 0.029. Considering your significance level is 0.03, the p-value is less than α (0.029 < 0.03), hence you should reject the null hypothesis.

To define what type of test you are performing (one-tailed or two-tailed), you would need additional information about the direction of the alternative hypothesis. However, as the p-value is lower than the significance level, the decision to reject or fail to reject the null hypothesis is not dependent on it being a one-tailed or two-tailed test. The decision-making process is the same; if the p-value is less than α, we reject the null hypothesis.

User Nicholas Armstrong
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