Question

Scenario A. A researcher has developed a new over the counter drug to treat mild muscle pain and wants to see how it compares to ibuprofen. She randomly assigns participants to either take the new drug or ibuprofen and measures their pain.

What is the alternative hypothesis? (pay attention to whether it is directional or non-directional)

Answer 1

HA: Alternative Hypothesis: (Proportion of patients cured by taking the new over the counter drug is different from Proportion of patients cured taking ibuprofen) (the new over the counter drug has a different effect on curing mild muscle pain as compared to ibuprofen)

The hypothesis is non - directional because the research question is NOT whether the new over the counter drug will cure mild muscle pain as compared to ibuprofen,in that case it will be directional. But, in this problem, the research question is just: it compares to ibuprofen. So,it can take both directions.