Question 2: Missing one scenario or Assuming one: Obama issued more executive orders than Bush.
You want to test if the Obama administration issued fewer executive orders than the Bush administration. State the null and alternative hypothesis.
H_A: The Obama administration issued fewer executive orders than the Bush administration. — Obama executive order < Bush executive order. This statement works as an alternative hypothesis as it aligns with the context. However,...
H_0: The Obama administration issued at least as many executive orders as the Bush administration. Which translates as Obama executive orders = Bush executive orders.
So, what about the scenario where Obama executive order > Bush executive order? Should this context be ignored with writing the null hypothesis?
Hello Chandan,
The correct formulation in the case you have described goes like this:
H₀: The Obama administration issued at least as many executive orders as the Bush administration — mathematically expressed as Obama executive orders >= Bush executive orders.
The null hypothesis covers the scenario where Obama executive orders are greater than Bush executive orders because it states that the count of Obama's executive orders is either greater than or equal to the count of Bush's.
Hope this helps!
Best,
Ned