Chapter 11: Testing Hypotheses About Proportions
Recall the 5 Steps in Any Hypothesis Test
1.
2.
3.
4.
Determine the null and alternative hypothesis
Summarize the Data into an Appropriate Test Statistic
Assuming the null hypothesis is true, find the p-value.
Decide whether or not the result is statistically
significant based on the p-value.
5. Report the conclusion in the context of the situation.
11.1: Formulating Hypothesis Statements
Null Hypothesis ( H 0 ) is a statement that there is nothing
happening (no relationship or no difference).
Alternative Hypothesis ( H a ) is a statement that
something is happening (there is a relationship or there is a
difference).
Examples:
Null Hypothesis:
1. There is no difference between the mean height of
men and women.
2. There is no relationship between highest education
level achieved and yearly salary.
Alternative Hypothesis:
1. Men are taller than women.
2. Increasing the education level achieved increases
one’s yearly salary.
Ex. Suppose that a statistics teacher, we’ll call him
Teacher O., asks his students to each randomly pick one of
the numbers 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4. His general theory is that the
proportion who pick the number 0 will be less than what
would be expected from random selection. Use p to
represent the population proportion that would pick the
number 0.
a) What is the specific value of p that corresponds to
true random selection?
p=(1/5)=0.2
b) In terms of p, write null and alternative hypotheses
for this situation.
H 0 : p = 0.2
H a : p < 0.2
Ex. For each of the following situations, write the null
and alternative hypotheses in words and in symbols.
a) In the last census, taken five years ago, it was
determined that 6% of school-aged children in a
certain state lived with their grandparent(s). To
support a bill on tax breaks for seniors, a
congressional member plans to take a random sample
of school-aged children to determine if that percent
has increased.
Null: The percent of children in the state who live with
their grandparent(s) remains at 6% (or possibly even
less).
Alternative: The percent of children in the state who
live with their grandparent(s) has increased since the last
census and is now greater than 6%.
H 0 : p = 0.6
H a : p > 0.6
**Note: The Null Hypothesis could also be written as
H 0 : p  .06. (Meaning the percent has stayed the same
or decreased).
b. An anthropologist is trying to determine if the
people in a certain region descend from the same
ancestors as another region she has studied. She
knows that in the region she has studied, 15% of
the people have a certain unique genetic trait.
She plans to take a random sample of people in
the new region and test them for that trait.
Null: In the new region being studied, 15% of the
population has the unique genetic trait.
Alternative: In the new region being studied, the percent
with the unique genetic trait differs from 15%.
(Notice that a two-sided alternative is used because the
anthropologist did not specify a particular way in which the
proportion might differ from 0.15 in the new region.)
H 0 : p = 0.15
Ha : p

0.15
One-Sided Test: When the alternative hypothesis specifies
a single direction.
Ex. p < 0.3 or p > 0.3
*Most hypothesis tests are one-sided tests because
investigators usually have a particular direction in mind
when they consider a question.*
Two-Sided Test (Two-Tailed Hypothesis Test): When
the alternative hypothesis includes values in either direction
from the test value.
Ex. p

0.3
*Used to verify that a difference exists…but does not say
which direction the difference exists.*
11.2 &11.3: The Logic of Hypothesis Testing and
Reaching a Conclusion about the Two Hypotheses
*Much like the criminal justice system*
i.e. You are innocent until proven guilty.
*We assume that the null hypothesis is a truth until we
have sufficient evidence to conclude otherwise.
-Whenever we perform a hypothesis test we must decide to
be in favor of the null or the alternative.
Test Statistic: The data summary that we used to evaluate
the two hypotheses. (In Chapter 6 we used the ChiSquared Test Statistic).
p-value: If the null hypothesis is true, the likelihood we
observe a test statistic as extreme as we did. (i.e. the
probability that we would see our test statistic from our
sample given the null hypothesis holds for the population).
Level of Significance: A set level at which we test our pvalue in order to determine statistical significance. (  )
The level of significance is usually 0.05 or 0.01.
More on the p-value:
We can think of the p-value as a conditional probability
P(A|B).
A = observing a test statistic value as extreme as that
observed or more so, and
B = The null hypothesis is true.
Rejecting the Null:
When our p-value is less than our significance level,  we
can reject the null in favor of the alternative and conclude a
statistically significant relationship exists (depending on the
actual alternative that we set up).
Ex.
a) p = 0.04
 = 0.05
0.04<0.05 Therefore, p < 
We reject the null in favor of the alternative.
b) p = 0.03
 = 0.01
0.03 > 0.01 Therefore, p > 
We cannot reject the null hypothesis (There is not
enough evidence to reject the null hypothesis).
**Again…Never Say “We Accept the Null Hypothesis”.
Ex. The following was taken from a recent journal article:
“In a recent survey of hospital patients 96 out of 150
reported that they would prefer to be friends with their
nurse as opposed to their doctor. If there is no difference in
preference in the population, the chance of such an extreme
result in a sample of this size is about 0.043. Because
0.043 is less than 0.05, we can conclude that there is a
statistically significant difference in preference.” Give a
numerical value for each of the following:
a) p-value
p = 0.043
b) The level of significance, 
 =0.05
c) The Sample Proportion
^
p = (96/150) = 0.64
d) The Sample Size
n=150
11.4: Testing Hypothesis About a Proportion
Null Value: The specific value specified in the hypotheses
for the population proportion of interest. ( p 0 )
Ex.
H 0 : p = 0.3
This implies the null value is 0.3.
H a : p < 0.2
This implies the null value is 0.2