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7 months ago
in Hypothesis Testing: The Basics | 20bits on 20bits
More specifically; why does a researcher try to disprove the null hypotheses rather then prove the research hypothesis? Why not just test the research hypothesis?
2 replies
Jesse Farmer
How would you prove the alternative hypothesis?
Jesse Farmer
Let me put my question another way.
You have a coin and don't know if it's fair. You flip it 100 times and it lands on heads 51 times.
What can you say about the coin? Can you say it's fair? Can you say it's biased?
More generally, it's difficult, if not impossible, to prove a hypothesis is correct. You can prove a hypothesis is false, however. So if you want to know whether a coin is biased you should see whether the data falsifies the converse, viz., that the coin is biased.
You have a coin and don't know if it's fair. You flip it 100 times and it lands on heads 51 times.
What can you say about the coin? Can you say it's fair? Can you say it's biased?
More generally, it's difficult, if not impossible, to prove a hypothesis is correct. You can prove a hypothesis is false, however. So if you want to know whether a coin is biased you should see whether the data falsifies the converse, viz., that the coin is biased.
7 months ago
in Hypothesis Testing: The Basics | 20bits on 20bits
I have a question;
Why do we need to test the null hypothesis and not the experimental hypothesis?
Why do we need to test the null hypothesis and not the experimental hypothesis?
1 reply
Jesse Farmer
C,
What do you mean by "experimental hypothesis?" The only hypotheses involved are the null hypothesis and its negation, the alternative hypothesis.
If the data is unlikely to have occurred under the null hypothesis, we accept the alternative hypothesis with some level of confidence — usually 95%.
What do you mean by "experimental hypothesis?" The only hypotheses involved are the null hypothesis and its negation, the alternative hypothesis.
If the data is unlikely to have occurred under the null hypothesis, we accept the alternative hypothesis with some level of confidence — usually 95%.
