probability and significance

• use of statistic tables and critical values

  • after conducting a stat test, a number will be generated called the calculated value which will help determine whether the results are significant and whether the null hypothesis can be rejected or not
  • to dot his we must compare the calculated value to the critical value in the stat table
• how to find out the critical value?

  • was the investigation one tailed (directional) or two tailed (non-directional)
  • acknowledge the number of participants
  • find out the P value (probability) which refers to how much confidence there is in the findings (always 0.05)
• type 1 error

  • when null hypothesis is wrongly rejected (being too lenient)
  • the likelihood of this is increased when we set the P value leniently (0.10) as the higher the P-value, the more likely the results were due to chance
• type 2 error

  • wrongly accepting a null hypothesis (missing something significant) or wrongly assuming results were due to chance
  • the likelihood of this is increased when were too strict y setting the P value too low (0.01)