Welcome to our exciting lesson! We shall embark on learning and mastering Hypothesis Testing using Python. It might sound complicated, but it’s like deciding if a toy is worth buying based on its reviews. We'll focus on the T-test, a way to tell if two groups are different.
Python has useful tools, Scipy
and Statsmodels
, which help us do these tests quickly and accurately. By the end, you'll understand Hypothesis Testing, know what a T-test is, and be able to do a T-test using Python. So, let's start!
A hypothesis is a guess about a group. For example, "adult males in the U.S. average 180 lbs." In Hypothesis Testing, we try to prove or disprove these guesses using collected data.
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Null Hypothesis (H0): The guess we're challenging. For example, "adult males in the U.S. do not average 180 lbs."
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Alternative Hypothesis (HA): The guess we're trying to prove (e.g., "Adult males in the U.S. average 180 lbs.").
Think of it like a courtroom trial. The null hypothesis is on trial, and the alternative hypothesis offers the evidence.
Let's understand the T-test better. It checks if the two groups' mean values are truly different. It's like testing if two pots of coffee are different temperatures due to one being under an AC vent or just by chance.
There are three main types of T-tests:
- One-sample T-test: "Does this coffee look like it came from a pot that averages 70 degrees?"
- Two-sample T-test: "Are men's and women's average weights different?"
- Paired-sample T-test: "Did people's stress levels change after using a meditation app for a month?"
