A hypothesis test is a statistical procedure used to make decisions or inferences about a population characteristic based on a sample of data. The goal is to evaluate the truthfulness of a statement (hypothesis) regarding a population parameter (e.g., mean or proportion).
Null Hypothesis ( \( H_0 \) ): This is a specific statement about the population parameter assumed to be true at the start of the test. It represents the "no change" or "no effect" condition.
Alternative Hypothesis ( \( H_1 \) ): This is a statement that contradicts the null hypothesis and represents the effect or difference being investigated.