If a researcher were studying the effects of a teaching method on patient learning outcomes, how would the research question need to be worded to use a t-test to test for statistical differences?
Ho: There is no difference in outcomes between patients who have taught "X" method and those who have not.
H1: There is a difference.
However, you need to define the specific problem(s) that the patients have, what your teaching method is, and what criterion you are using as a measure of change.
The comparison of the amount of change in your criterion from pretest to post-test (after the teaching or no teaching) would be used for your t-test. Since I assume you are looking only for more positive change with patients who were taught, you would be dealing with a one-tailed test.
I hope this helps. Thanks for asking.
To use a t-test to test for statistical differences between groups, the research question needs to compare the means of two groups, typically an experimental group (exposed to a teaching method) and a control group (not exposed to the teaching method). In this case, the research question could be worded as follows:
"Is there a statistically significant difference in patient learning outcomes between individuals exposed to a specific teaching method and those not exposed to the teaching method?"
This research question directly compares the means of two groups and sets up a hypothesis that there is a difference in patient learning outcomes based on whether or not they were exposed to the teaching method. A t-test (specifically an independent samples t-test) can then be used to test this hypothesis and determine if the observed difference in means is statistically significant.