Suppose a researcher wants to study the effectiveness of a new reading program for students who have not acquired the necessary reading skills by the time they reach the 8th grade. A randomly selected group of 50 students from a local junior high with poor reading skills will undergo a special reading program. Another group of 50 randomly selected students with poor reading skills will undergo regular reading classes. A month later, the reading skills of all 100 students are assessed to determine whether the program was successful.
What is the research hypothesis in this example?
- The means of Population 1 and Population 2 are the same
- The mean of Population 2 is greater than Population1
- The means of Population 1 and Population 2 are different
- The mean of Population 1 is greater than the mean of Population 2
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The research hypothesis in this example would be:
- The mean of Population 1 is greater than the mean of Population 2.
To determine this, the researcher will compare the reading skills of the students who underwent the special reading program (Population 1) with the reading skills of the students who underwent regular reading classes (Population 2). The hypothesis suggests that the special reading program is effective in improving reading skills, leading to a higher mean reading skill score in Population 1 compared to Population 2.
To test this hypothesis, the researcher will assess the reading skills of all 100 students a month after they have undergone their respective reading programs and compare the means of the two populations using statistical analysis.