Question

2) Imagine a researcher conducts a one-tailed test and finds a significant test result at z = 1.82

a. Explain why a two-tailed test is generally preferred to a one-tailed test.

b. Explain your concerns about this researcher's significant finding.

c. What might have been a better way to change this experiment to achieve the desired results?

Answer 1

a. Explain why a two-tailed test is generally preferred to a one-tailed test.

This is because a two-tailed test uses both the positive and negative tails of the distribution. In other words, it tests for the possibility of positive or negative differences. A one-tailed test is appropriate if you only want to determine if there is a difference between groups in a specific direction.

b. Explain your concerns about this researcher's significant finding.

The researcher did not use both the positive and negative tails of the distribution.

c. What might have been a better way to change this experiment to achieve the desired results?

If the test is changed to a two-tailed test, then it will include both the positive and negative tails of the distribution, giving more significant results.