February, 2003
© 2000, 2001, 2003 Scott S. Emerson, M.D., Ph.D.
Classical hypothesis testing usually defines null and alternative
hypotheses for some summary measure of probability model
Null Hypothesis: Represents the status quo
·Classically,
the decision in the absence of evidence to the
contrary
Alternative Hypothesis: What we hope is true
·Classically,
the decision in the presence of evidence against the
null
·Usually defined as a contiguous hypothesis