1. Writing Research Hypotheses Null and Alternative Hypotheses The Null Hypothesis states “There is no significance present” – Represented by H 0 The Alternative Hypothesis states the opposite or that there is significance in the findings present – Represented by H 1

2. Null and Alternative Hypothesis Example A researcher wishes to determine if there is a significant relationship between the number of lost work days experienced and the number of years of experience for the workers The null hypothesis would be: – H 0 : There is no relationship between the number of lost workdays and the number of years of experience The alternative hypothesis would be: – H 1 : There is a relationship between the number of lost workdays and the number of years of experience

3. Correlation Hypotheses Null Hypothesis – H 0 : r = 0 (Interpreted as “There is no relationship between the number of workdays lost and the age of the worker) Alternative Hypothesis – H 1 : r ≠ 0 (Interpreted as “There is a significant relationship between the number of workdays lost and the age of the worker)

4. Correlation Test Example Remember correlation coefficients (r) can range from -1.00 to +1.00 with 0 representing no correlation present. Testing a correlation is a two step process The first step is to calculate the correlation coefficient (r) The next step is to determine if the correlation coefficient is significant To test the significance of a correlation, we use a t-test procedure to see if the correlation coefficient is significantly different from 0.

5. Statistics and Hypothesis Testing When using a statistical test, we test to see if the Null hypothesis is true, if it is not, then we reject it and accept the Alternative as being true. Using the example with lost work days, we are actually testing to see if the Null hypothesis is true or false, if the Null hypothesis is false, then we reject it and conclude the Alternative is true.

6. Correlation Test Example A researcher develops a research sub-problem that wishes to determine if there is a relationship between the number of workdays lost due to injury and the age of the worker. – What will the null and alternative hypotheses be?

7. Activity 3 Modify two current sub-problems or write two new ones. Both sub-problems should examine a relationship between 2 variables Write a null and alternative hypothesis set for each.

8. Week 4 Assignment: Introduction Chapter In you next assignment, you will be writing your Introduction Chapter – Introduction – Statement of the problem – Research questions and/or hypothesis – Rationale or significance for the study – Assumptions – Limitations/delimitations – Definitions – References