General Hypothesis Testing Procedure

Step 1:

Write down H₀ and H₁ (i.e. express the claim in terms of the population paramter(s)).

Step 2:

Identify the sample and test statistics (i.e. the evidence) to be used.

Step 3:

Determine the sampling distribution of the sample and/or test statistics under H₀ (i.e. plot the distribution assuming H₀ is true). Block out the acceptance and rejection regions in the domain of the sampling distribution.

Step 4:

If $\alpha \,$is given, determine the critical value(s) in terms of the sample and/or test statistics. If $\alpha$ is not provided, find the p-value using the evidence as a critical value.

Step 5

Make decision and draw your conclusion in the context of the problem.