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Statistics vocabulary · Hypothesis Testing

Alternative hypothesis

Meaning in statistics, with examples

nounCore term

In statistics, alternative hypothesis means: The statement that there is a real effect, difference or relationship; it is the claim a researcher usually expects, and the data support it when they give strong evidence against the null hypothesis.

In Turkish: alternatif hipotez, karşıt hipotez

How it is used

Written H₁ or Hₐ. It can be two-sided ('the means differ') or one-sided ('the new drug lowers blood pressure more than the old one'). The direction must be decided before looking at the data.

Example sentences

  1. The alternative hypothesis is that customers in the new store layout spend more per visit.

  2. We used a two-sided alternative hypothesis because the effect could go either way.

Common collocations

  • two-sided alternative hypothesis
  • one-sided alternative
  • state the alternative hypothesis
  • null and alternative hypotheses
  • null hypothesisThe default claim in a statistical test that there is no effect, no difference or no relationship; the test checks whether the data give enough evidence against it.
  • hypothesisA clear, testable statement about a relationship or difference that a study sets out to check with data, for example 'sleep loss slows reaction time'.
  • two-tailed testA hypothesis test that looks for a difference in either direction, so the rejection region is split between both ends (tails) of the distribution.
  • reject the null hypothesisTo conclude, after a test, that the data give enough evidence against the null hypothesis, usually because the p-value is below the significance level.

More terms: Hypothesis Testing

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