Null hypothesis and research hypothesis

Sample Solution

Data Analysis Plan

Research Question: This research will investigate the relationship between social media usage (independent variable) and academic performance (dependent variable) among college students.

Variables:

• Social Media Usage: This variable will be measured by the average daily time spent on social media platforms (hours per day). Data collection can be done through self-reported surveys or app usage tracking tools (with student consent).
• Academic Performance: This variable will be measured by the student's overall GPA (Grade Point Average).

Hypotheses:

• Null Hypothesis (H0): There is no statistically significant correlation between social media usage and academic performance among college students.
• Research Hypothesis (H1): There is a negative correlation between social media usage and academic performance among college students (i.e., higher social media usage is associated with lower academic performance).

Type of Analysis:

A Pearson correlation coefficient analysis will be conducted to determine the strength and direction of the linear relationship between social media usage and academic performance.

Justification for Analysis:

A correlation analysis is appropriate because it assesses the strength and direction of the association between two continuous variables (social media usage and GPA in this case). It does not imply causation, but identifies if a relationship exists, which can be a first step in understanding the potential impact of social media on academic performance.

Significance Level:

The significance level will be set at alpha (α) = .05. This means we will reject the null hypothesis if the statistical evidence suggests a relationship between social media usage and academic performance with a probability of error less than 5%.

Full Answer Section

Expected Results:

• If we reject the null hypothesis (H0): A statistically significant negative correlation coefficient (between -1 and 0) would indicate that higher social media usage is associated with lower academic performance.
• If we fail to reject the null hypothesis (H0): The results would suggest no statistically significant linear relationship between social media usage and academic performance. Further research might be needed to explore potential non-linear relationships or other factors influencing academic performance.

Additional Considerations:

• This analysis plan assumes a normally distributed population for both social media usage and GPA. Exploratory data analysis will be conducted to assess normality and identify any potential outliers.
• Depending on the data distribution or presence of influential outliers, non-parametric correlation tests (e.g., Spearman's rank correlation) might be considered as alternative analysis methods.