Hypothesis testing is a vital component of research in any scientific field. It is the use of data to determine whether a particular hypothesis is supported (Price et al., 2020). A hypothesis is an educated guess, assumption, or proposal for an observation (Price et al., 2020). One example of how research uses hypothesis testing is clinical trials. Clinical trials rely on hypothesis testing to determine the effectiveness of a certain drug, treatment, or procedure. Another example of how research uses hypothesis testing is the examination of the effects of certain health practices. For instance, a researcher could use hypothesis testing to investigate whether the consumption of sweetened beverages causes diabetes. In general, hypothesis testing has numerous applications in the healthcare sector.
Hypothesis testing involves using a sample to investigate whether the null or alternative hypothesis is more likely to be true. The null hypothesis posits that any difference between two observations is due to chance alone, while the alternative hypothesis counters the null hypothesis (Price et al., 2020). After specifying the null and alternative hypotheses, the next step is determing a significance level, which is the probability that the null hypothesis will be rejected when it is actually true (Price et al., 2020). Next, calculate the p-value, which is the likelihood of finding the sample result given that the null hypothesis is true (Price et al., 2020). Consequently, the null hypothesis is rejected if the p-value is less than the significance level.
Hypothesis testing is important to the field of nursing because it informs best practices. Nursing relies on research to establish the most effective techniques. For instance, researchers could test whether a certain nursing intervention improves patient outcomes. If the null hypothesis is rejected, then the intervention will be integrated into nursing practice. Additionally, hypothesis testing has shaped standard care procedures and evidence-based practices, such as handwashing and decontamination. Thus, hypothesis testing supports nurses to make informed decisions that improve patient care.
Reference
Price, P. C., Jhangiani, R., & Chiang, I. C. A. (2020). Research methods in psychology (4th ed.). OpenStax.