Statistics Dictionary
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Region of Rejection
For a hypothesis test,
a researcher collects sample data. From the sample data, the researcher
computes a test statistic. If the statistic falls within a specified range of
values, the researcher rejects the
null hypothesis
. The range of values that leads the researcher to
reject the null hypothesis is called the region of rejection.
For example, a researcher might hypothesize that the population mean is equal to
10. To test this null hypothesis, he/she could collect a random sample of
observations and compute the sample mean. If the sample mean is close to 10
(say, between 9 and 11), the researcher might decide to accept the hypothesis.
In this example, the region of rejection would be the range of values that are
less than 9 or greater than 11. If the sample mean falls in this range, the
researcher would reject the null hypothesis.