Hypothesis Testing
A statistical hypothesis is a hypothesis that is testable on the basis of observed data modeled as the realised values taken by a collection of random variables. A set of data (or several sets of data, taken together) are modelled as being realised values of a collection of random variables having a joint probability distribution in some set of possible joint distributions. The hypothesis being tested is exactly that set of possible probability distributions. A statistical hypothesis test is a method of statistical inference. An alternative hypothesis is proposed for the probability distribution of the data, either explicitly or only informally. The comparison of the two models is deemed statistically significant if, according to a threshold probability -- the significance level -- the data is very unlikely to have occurred under the null hypothesis. A hypothesis test specifies which outcomes of a study may lead to a rejection of the null hypothesis at a pre-specified level of signi