An Intuitive Introduction to Hypothesis Testing
Ismael G. Dambolena - dambolena@babson.edu
Mathematics and Science Division, Babson College, Wellesley, Massachusetts 02457
Steven E. Eriksen - eriksen@babson.edu
Mathematics and Science Division, Babson College, Wellesley, Massachusetts 02457
David P. Kopcso - kopcso@babson.edu
Mathematics and Science Division, Babson College, Wellesley, Massachusetts 02457
Abstract
The traditional approach to teaching hypothesis testing, based on test statistics, is often perceived as lengthy and convoluted. This perception is of particular concern in business schools where the main focus of statistics education should be on providing practical decision-making tools to future managers. This paper discusses the results of a two-year experiment incorporating a more intuitive graph-based introduction to hypothesis testing that places the concept of p-value in a central role. Using this innovative approach at our institution we decreased class coverage time and improved students' understanding and retention with excellent results.
Key words
graphs; hypothesis testing; intuition; p-value; teaching statistics
History
Received: August 2007; accepted: August 2008. This paper was with the authors 5 months for 1 revision.
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Citation Information
Dambolena, I. G., S. E. Eriksen, D. P. Kopsco. 2009. An intuitive introduction to hypothesis testing. INFORMS Trans. Ed. 9(2) 53–62. Available online at http://ite.pubs.informs.org/.
DOI: 10.1287/ited.1080.0019
