Conducting a z-Test
A researcher predicts that watching a film on institutionalization will change students’ attitudes about chronically mentally ill patients. The researcher randomly selects a class of 36 students, shows them the film, and gives them a questionnaire about their attitudes. The mean score on the questionnaire for these 36 students is 70. The score for people in general on this questionnaire is 75, with a standard deviation of 12. Using the five steps of hypothesis testing and the 5% significance level (i.e. alpha = .05), does showing the film change students’ attitudes towards the chronically mentally ill?
- What does it mean to set alpha at .05?
- What is your null hypothesis? Alternate hypothesis?
- Is this a one-tailed or two-tailed hypothesis?
- What is the critical z?
- Calculate the obtained z. Do you reject or fail to reject the null hypothesis?
- State in words what you have found.
