According to the 2004 Canadian Community Health Survey,23.1% of Canadians aged 18 or older were considered obese; that is,they had a body mass index (BMI)of 30 or higher.Suppose you believe that the percentage of obese Canadians has decreased since 2004 and wish to test your belief.Identify the Type I error in this context.
A)You conclude that obesity is on the rise since it can only increase.
B)You conclude that the percentage of obese Canadians is on the decline,but in fact it has stayed the same or increased.
C)You conclude that the percentage of obese Canadians has increased or decreased,but it definitely has not stayed the same.
D)You conclude that the percentage of obese Canadians has stayed the same or increased,but it has actually decreased.
E)A Type I error is not possible in this situation.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

A Type I error occurs when a true null hypothesis is rejected. In this case, the null hypothesis would be that the percentage of obese Canadians has not decreased since 2004. If the researcher concludes that the percentage of obese Canadians has decreased, but in fact it has stayed the same or increased, this would be a Type I error. Option B describes this scenario. Options A, C, and D do not describe a Type I error. Option E is incorrect because Type I errors can occur in any hypothesis testing situation.