A researcher tests the mean of a sample of 25 people and calculates a value of 2.51 for the t-statistic. For α = .05 (two-tailed), which of the following is most appropriate? A) do not reject null (p .05) C) reject null (p .01)

Question

A researcher tests the mean of a sample of 25 people and calculates a value of 2.51 for the t-statistic. For α = .05 (two-tailed), which of the following is most appropriate? A) do not reject null (p < .05) B) do not reject null (p > .05) C) reject null (p < .05) D) reject null (p > .01)

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

For α = .05 (two-tailed) and a sample size of 25, the critical t-value is approximately ±2.064 per t-distribution table. Since the calculated t-value of 2.51 is greater than the critical t-value of 2.064, we reject the null hypothesis. The p-value associated with this t-value is less than .05 (since a one-tailed test would have a p-value less than .025), which also supports rejecting the null hypothesis. Therefore, the most appropriate choice is to reject the null hypothesis, which is choice C.

A Researcher Tests the Mean of a Sample of 25