There are two forms of alternative hypothesis: directional hypothesis (one-tailed test) and non-directional hypothesis (two-tailed test). In a non-directional hypothesis or two-tailed test, the possibility of an effect is described in two directions (Cho & Abe, 2013). The critical region, in the case of the two-tailed test, is a result of the collection of values that are less than the first critical value and more than the second critical value. There are several reasons for designing a study with a nondirectional hypothesis. This paper will discuss the reasons researchers use the non-directional hypothesis.
Different research situations can make use of a non-directional hypothesis or two-tailed test. For example, if a comparison is required between two groups, then the performance of two groups can be assessed using the non-directional hypothesis. But it will not tell how the two groups will be different. Therefore, it will only tell about the existence of a relationship between variables, but it will not specify the direction. Instead, it will divide the significance level in both directions (Cho & Abe, 2013). Thus, it addresses all three scenarios that are less than, equal to, and greater than and provides accurate and reliable results. It may make use of one or two critical values. Thus, researchers feel that using two-tailed testing is a more rigorous approach to empirical research, as results can go either way.
The two-tailed test also has applications in production activities. Research can be carried out to assess the capacity of a particular facility with the help of a two-tailed test. It will involve the critical region and will split into two regions. In this way, it will hypothesize the value of the parameter. The results in either of the two directions will result in a refutation of the null hypothesis. If there is no requirement for directional prediction, then two-tailed tests must be used.
References
Cho, H. C., & Abe, S. (2013). Is two-tailed testing for directional research hypotheses tests legitimate?. Journal of Business Research, 66(9), 1261-1266.
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