Why is it important to properly frame the null and alternative hypothesis?

It’s the scientific method. You have to know what you are testing. The null hypothesis is that the relationship you think is there isn’t there. You need the alternative hypothesis to describe the thing you are looking for. You need statistically significant evidence to support the alternative hypothesis or else you can not disprove the null hypothesis.

If you don’t clearly and accurately define the null and alternative hypotheses, at the end of the experiment, you have no idea what you’ve just concluded.

It makes the statisitical analysis of what you’ve done a damn sight easier.

@wundayatta I suggest that we reject or refuse to reject the null hypothesis based on the experimental results and the statistical analysis of the data.

@Dr_Lawrence Did I get that backward? It’s been a while since I took that course, and I don’t use stats that much.

In science we cannot prove or disprove ANY hypothesis. We can confirm or fail to confirm a hypothesis.