Case Study

Based on this scenario, write a brief, professional conclusion interpreting the statistical results. State whether the researcher should reject or fail to reject the null hypothesis, and explain what this means in terms of the calorie estimates of frequent vs. rare junk food eaters.

Case context: A researcher collects calorie estimation data from two groups: regular junk food eaters (n=8n = 8, M=168.12M = 168.12, SD=42.66SD = 42.66) and rare junk food eaters (n=7n = 7, M=220.71M = 220.71, SD=41.23SD = 41.23). They run a two-tailed independent-samples tt-test with an alpha level of .05.05, finding a computed tt score of 2.422.42 (df=13df = 13) and a pp-value of .015.015. The critical values are ±2.160\pm 2.160.

Question: Based on this scenario, write a brief, professional conclusion interpreting the statistical results. State whether the researcher should reject or fail to reject the null hypothesis, and explain what this means in terms of the calorie estimates of frequent vs. rare junk food eaters.

Sample answer: The researcher should reject the null hypothesis because the computed t(13)=2.42,p=.015t(13) = 2.42, p = .015. This statistically significant result indicates that individuals who regularly eat junk food estimate significantly fewer calories (M=168.12M = 168.12) compared to those who rarely eat it (M=220.71M = 220.71).

Key points:

  • State the decision to reject the null hypothesis.
  • Incorporate the sample means (168.12168.12 vs 220.71220.71) to describe the direction of the difference.
  • Explain that regular junk food eaters estimate fewer calories than rare junk food eaters.

Rubric: The response must correctly state the decision to reject the null hypothesis, reference the statistical values (t=2.42t = 2.42, critical value = ±2.160\pm 2.160, or p=.015p = .015 vs .05.05), and explain the directional conclusion that regular junk food eaters estimate fewer calories than rare eaters.

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Updated 2026-05-27

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Research Methods in Psychology - 4th American Edition @ KPU

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