A One-Tailed Sign Test Is Used to Test for Differences

question 42

Multiple Choice

A one-tailed sign test is used to test for differences between two populations at the 0.10 level of significance. There were 9 pluses and 5 minuses. What is the decision regarding the null hypothesis?

• A) Fail to reject the null hypothesis.
• B) Reject the null hypothesis.
• C) Neither reject nor fail to reject the null hypothesis.
• D) Should have used a paired t-test.

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Definitions:

Null Hypothesis

A statement suggesting that there is no significant difference or relationship between specified populations, any observed effect is due to sampling or experimental error.

Statistical Hypothesis

Statement about an expected outcome or relationship involving population parameters.

Expected Outcome

The anticipated result or set of results from a scientific experiment or a statistical analysis.

Sampling Error

The difference between a sample statistic and the corresponding population parameter, which arises simply because the sample is not a perfect representation of the population.