EXAMPLE 6.10

Average scholarship amount of borrowers and nonborrowers: The hypotheses. In Example 6.8, the hypotheses are stated in terms of the difference in the average scholarship amount between borrowers and nonborrowers:

H₀: there is no difference in the population means

H_a: there is a difference in the population means

Because H_a is two-sided, large values of both positive and negative differences count as evidence against the null hypothesis.