What Are Null Hypotheses? The Reasoning Linking Scientific and Statistical Hypothesis Testing

Autor/in	Lawson, Anton E.
Titel	What Are Null Hypotheses? The Reasoning Linking Scientific and Statistical Hypothesis Testing
Quelle	In: Science Education Review, 7 (2008) 3, S.106-112 (7 Seiten) PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1446-6120
Schlagwörter	Hypothesis Testing; Educational Research; Statistical Analysis; Prediction; Research Methodology; Experiments; Data Collection + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Hypothesenprüfung; Hypothesentest; Bildungsforschung; Pädagogische Forschung; Statistische Analyse; Vorhersage; Research method; Forschungsmethode; Erprobung; Data capture; Datensammlung
Abstract	We should dispense with use of the confusing term "null hypothesis" in educational research reports. To explain why the term should be dropped, the nature of, and relationship between, scientific and statistical hypothesis testing is clarified by explication of (a) the scientific reasoning used by Gregor Mendel in testing specific hypotheses derived from his general inheritance theory and (b) the statistical reasoning used in applying the chi-square statistic to his experimental data. The Mendel example is followed by application of the same pattern of scientific and statistical reasoning to educational examples. A better understanding of the related, but separate, processes of scientific and statistical hypothesis testing, including the role of scientific hypotheses (i.e., proposed explanations) and scientific predictions (i.e., expected test results), not only reveals why null statistical hypotheses and predictions need not be stated, but also reveals how we can improve the clarity of our research reports and improve the quality of the research reported by insuring that alternative scientific hypotheses and theories are in fact tested. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01