Ghosts The following table summarizes results from a Pew Research Center survey in which subjects were asked whether they had seen or been in the presence of a ghost. Use a 0.01 significance level to test the claim that gender is independent of response. Does the conclusion change if the significance level is changed to 0.05?
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Step 1: Define the null and alternative hypotheses. The null hypothesis (H₀) states that gender is independent of the response (whether someone has seen or been in the presence of a ghost). The alternative hypothesis (H₁) states that gender is not independent of the response.
Step 2: Calculate the expected frequencies for each cell in the table using the formula: \( E = \frac{(\text{Row Total} \times \text{Column Total})}{\text{Grand Total}} \). For example, the expected frequency for Male-Yes is \( E = \frac{(862 \times 366)}{2003} \). Repeat this for all cells.
Step 3: Compute the chi-square test statistic using the formula: \( \chi^2 = \sum \frac{(O - E)^2}{E} \), where \( O \) is the observed frequency and \( E \) is the expected frequency. Perform this calculation for each cell and sum the results.
Step 4: Determine the degrees of freedom (df) using the formula: \( \text{df} = (\text{Number of Rows} - 1) \times (\text{Number of Columns} - 1) \). In this case, \( \text{df} = (2 - 1) \times (2 - 1) = 1 \). Use the chi-square distribution table to find the critical value at the 0.01 significance level and compare it to the test statistic.
Step 5: Repeat the comparison at the 0.05 significance level. If the test statistic exceeds the critical value at either significance level, reject the null hypothesis. Otherwise, fail to reject the null hypothesis. Interpret the results in the context of the problem.
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Key Concepts
Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.
Chi-Square Test of Independence
The Chi-Square Test of Independence is a statistical method used to determine if there is a significant association between two categorical variables. In this case, it assesses whether gender (male or female) is independent of the response to the ghost sighting question (yes or no). The test compares the observed frequencies in each category to the expected frequencies if there were no association.
The significance level, often denoted as alpha (α), is the threshold for determining whether a result is statistically significant. Common levels are 0.01 and 0.05, indicating a 1% and 5% risk of concluding that a difference exists when there is none. Changing the significance level affects the likelihood of rejecting the null hypothesis, which in this case is that gender and ghost sightings are independent.
In hypothesis testing, the null hypothesis (H0) represents the default position that there is no effect or association, while the alternative hypothesis (H1) suggests that there is an effect or association. For this question, H0 posits that gender is independent of ghost sighting responses, while H1 suggests that there is a dependence between the two variables. The outcome of the test will either support or reject the null hypothesis based on the calculated p-value.