This week you are leaning about the hypothesis testing method in statistics. This process starts out by stating the null and alternative hypotheses. Review the terms in "The Visual Learner: Statistics," located in the Topic 3 Resources, to answer these questions.

Think of a research study that you would like to conduct at your current or future place of employment. In designing your research question, describe the null and alternative hypotheses. What would type I and type II errors look like in this hypothetical situation? Identify if this was a one-tailed or a two-tailed test?

Example: It is hypothesized that a follow-up phone call 2 weeks after discharge will improve patient compliance with the aftercare protocol.

Null Hypothesis: Communication with the patient 2 weeks after discharge will not change the compliance of patient aftercare protocol.

Alternative Hypothesis: Communication with the patient 2 weeks after discharge will improve compliance of patient aftercare protocol.

Type I Error: A type I error could occur if the data suggest an effect of the postdischarge phone call when there was not improvement in compliance of the aftercare protocol.

Type II Error: A type II error could have occurred if the data suggest that there was no improvement in compliance of the aftercare protocol when in fact there was an improvement.

One- or Two-Tailed Test: This is a one-tailed test because the researchers are predicting an increase in compliance of the aftercare protocol.