hypothesis testing

British  

noun

1. statistics the theory, methods, and practice of testing a hypothesis concerning the parameters of a population distribution (the null hypothesis ) against another (the alternative hypothesis ) which will be accepted only if its probability exceeds a predetermined significance level, generally on the basis of statistics derived from random sampling from the given population Compare statistical inference

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Example Sentences

I don’t think it should even be considered a science, because science has hypothesis testing and it has a well-defined concept of what is means to have evidence.

From Slate • Nov. 11, 2019

The critical thinking assessment measures 5 components of critical thinking skills including verbal reasoning, argument analysis, hypothesis testing, probability and uncertainty, decision-making, and problem-solving. 

From Scientific American • Oct. 3, 2017

Any experiment in the exploratory stage could be performed without formal statistical hypothesis testing.

From Nature • Feb. 21, 2017

“It’s all about very rigorous hypothesis testing: What is my hypothesis and how would I disprove it?” he said.

From New York Times • Apr. 5, 2015

Polling with Confidence Estimating characteristics of a population, such as the percentage who favor a certain candidate or a particular brand of dog food, is, like hypothesis testing, simple in principle.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos