The decision to use a directional versus non-directional alternative hypothesis most directly affects ______.
A) the critical value(s)
B) alpha ()
C) the sample size
D) the degrees of freedom

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The decision to use a directional versus non-directional alternative hypothesis affects the critical value(s) used in hypothesis testing. Specifically, a directional alternative hypothesis will use a one-tailed test and require a different critical value than a non-directional alternative hypothesis, which uses a two-tailed test. This means that the choice of directional versus non-directional alternative hypothesis will affect the cutoff for rejecting the null hypothesis and accepting the alternative hypothesis, and therefore affect the interpretation of the results.

The Decision to Use a Directional Versus Non-Directional Alternative Hypothesis