Okuzeka
Software Engineering vocabulary · Machine Learning and Data Processing

Null hypothesis

Meaning in software engineering, with examples

nounCommon term

In software engineering, null hypothesis means: The default assumption in a statistical test that there is no effect or no difference, for example that a new design does not change the conversion rate.

In Turkish: sıfır hipotezi, boş hipotez

How it is used

Written H0 and read 'H-nought' or 'H-zero'. You reject or fail to reject the null hypothesis; statisticians avoid saying that you 'accept' it. Its counterpart is the alternative hypothesis (H1).

Example sentences

  1. With a p-value of 0.4, we can't reject the null hypothesis.

  2. Our null hypothesis is that free shipping has no effect on order size.

Common collocations

  • reject the null hypothesis
  • fail to reject the null hypothesis
  • under the null hypothesis
  • alternative hypothesis
  • hypothesisA specific, testable statement about what you expect to happen and why, written down before an experiment or analysis starts.
  • p-valueThe probability of seeing a result at least as extreme as the one observed if there were really no effect, that is, if the null hypothesis were true.
  • statistical significanceA sign that a result is unlikely to be explained by random chance alone, usually judged by whether the p-value falls below a threshold chosen in advance, such as 0.05.
  • A/B testAn experiment in which users are randomly split into two groups that see different versions of something, so you can measure which version performs better.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Machine Learning and Data Processing

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: