Methods and Conclusion

Methods and Conclusion

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Methods and Conclusion

After the hypothesis and research questions are posed, data is collected so that the hypothesis can be tested. Data collection is a process of collecting and measuring evidence on variables being investigated, in a systematic manner that assists one to answer stated research questions, test the hypothesis and assess the outcomes. Paper-and-pencil surveys were used to collect data from students in New England community and south-eastern Michigan (Gruber, 2015).

Hypothesis testing is the systematic method applied to analyze the data collected and assist in decision-making process. Steps taken to test the hypothesis are: making assumptions, stating research and null hypothesis to be tested, formulating the appropriate analysis plan and stating test statistic to be used, using the plan to analyze the sample data, and accepting and rejecting the hypothesis based on the analysis results (Nickerson 2000).

The first step in testing the hypothesis is to make assumptions about the sampling method, shape of population distribution, level of variable measurement, and sample size. In this research, the following assumptions were made: average age of students surveyed was 15years and the samples reflected the communities’ and the schools’ racial compositions. Analysis plan explains how to use collected sample data to either reject or accept the hypothesis. Interpretation of the results is done once the computations outlined in the analysis plan are done.

In conclusion, theories used to confirm or refute hypothesis are the p value and theory of hypothesis testing. P value gives a measure of strength of collected evidence against null hypothesis. A hypothesis is rejected if it falls below the selected threshold p value. Theory of hypothesis testing allows the researcher to reject null hypothesis in favor of alternative hypothesis. Researchers select Type I error (rejecting null hypothesis when true) and type II error (accepting null hypothesis when false) levels and then determine the critical region. The null hypothesis is rejected in favor of alternative hypothesis if the statistics test lies in the critical region .

References

Gruber, J. &. (2015). Sexual Harassment, Bullying, and School Outcomes for High School Girls and Boys. Violence Against Women, Vol. 22(1), 113-116. doi:DOI: 10.1177/1077801215599079

Nickerson, Raymond S. (2000). “Null Hypothesis Significance Tests: A Review of an Old and Continuing Controversy”. Psychological Methods 5 (2): 241–301. doi:10.1037/1082-989X.5.2.241

Stockburger, D. W. (2007). “Hypothesis and Hypothesis Testing”,. (N. J. Salkind, Ed.) Encyclopedia of Measurement and Statistics.