1.10.A—Determine the components of an investigative question within a statistical study

Determine the components of an investigative question within a statistical study.

• The first component of an investigative question should guide the data collection process and should be phrased in terms of the variable(s) of interest in the study.
• The second component of an investigative question should guide the data analysis choice.
  • i. In the case of a hypothesis test, the investigative question should make clear the parameter and the direction of the alternative hypothesis (i.e., not equal, greater than, less than, association, not independent).
  • ii. In the case of a confidence interval, the investigative question should make clear the parameter and the goal of estimation of that parameter within a range of potential values.
• The third component of an investigative question should indicate the type(s) of conclusion(s) applicable from the study. The investigative question should provide the population to which the conclusions will be applicable and, in the case of an experiment that uses random assignment, a cause-and-effect conclusion.