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null hypothesis
Message posted by Lor on November 10, 1999 at 12:00 AM (ET)
in lay terms please, what is a null hypothesis, Iv'e had twenty different things it might be, isn't there an easier consise answer?
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Re: null hypothesis
Message posted by Jack Tomsky on November 10, 1999 at 12:00 AM (ET)
The null hypothesis is a statement of what the true situation might be concerning some unknown parameters. For example, the statement might be that two means are equal. The null hypothesis is tested against some alternative hypothesis. The null hypothesis is accepted, unless there is strong empirical eveidence from the data that it is not true. Just as in a murder case, the null hypothesis is presumed to be innocent unless proven guilty.
Re: null hypothesis
Message posted by JG on November 11, 1999 at 12:00 AM (ET)
In most situations the null hypothesis asks the question what are the chances that there is no 'real' effect and we are just seeing the working of chance or luck.
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