Consider the situation in which a human resources manager wishes to determine whether the median number of days of sick leave per year is greater for female employees than for male employees.The following data represent random samples of males and females: If the manager is unwilling to assume that the populations are normally distributed,which of the following is the correct conclusion to reach if the test is conducted using a .05 level of significance?
A)Reject the null hypothesis.
B)Conclude that females do have a higher median than males.
C)Do not reject the null hypothesis.
D)Conclude that males have a higher median than females.

Question

Consider the situation in which a human resources manager wishes to determine whether the median number of days of sick leave per year is greater for female employees than for male employees.The following data represent random samples of males and females:  If the manager is unwilling to assume that the populations are normally distributed,which of the following is the correct conclusion to reach if the test is conducted using a .05 level of significance?
A)Reject the null hypothesis. 
B)Conclude that females do have a higher median than males. 
C)Do not reject the null hypothesis. 
D)Conclude that males have a higher median than females.

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Since the population distribution is not assumed to be normal, a non-parametric test such as the Mann-Whitney U test should be used. This test compares the medians of two independent groups and does not require the assumption of normality. The null hypothesis for the test is that there is no difference between the medians of the two groups. At a significance level of .05, if the calculated test statistic does not fall in the rejection region, the null hypothesis cannot be rejected, and we conclude that there is not enough evidence to suggest that the median sick leave days for females is greater than for males. Hence, the correct answer is C: Do not reject the null hypothesis.

Consider the Situation in Which a Human Resources Manager Wishes