Question

question 8 (1 point) if p<0.05, which statement is incorrect? the result is unlikely to have occurred by chance alone we have enough evidence to reject the null hypothesis the findings are considered statistically significant proves that the alternative hypothesis is true the observed data in the sample is inconsistent with the null hypothesis

Explanation:

• p - value interpretation: The p - value represents the probability of obtaining the observed results (or more extreme results) if the null hypothesis is true.
• Significance level: A common significance level is \(\alpha = 0.05\). If \(p<\alpha\), we reject the null hypothesis.
• Option analysis:
• If \(p < 0.05\), the result is unlikely to have occurred by chance alone.
• It does not prove the alternative hypothesis is true (there could be other factors or errors in the study design).
• It means the observed data is inconsistent with the null hypothesis (since we reject the null when \(p<0.05\)), and we have enough evidence to reject the null hypothesis. Saying “the findings are considered statistically significant” is a correct description when \(p<0.05\) (assuming a significance level of \(0.05\)).

Answer:

“proves that the alternative hypothesis is true” is incorrect. When \(p < 0.05\), we do not prove the alternative hypothesis is true. We only have evidence against the null hypothesis. So the incorrect statement is “proves that the alternative hypothesis is true”.