The name of the statistics game is being able to estimate the probability of an outcome. If we take what we have talked about and done so far in this chapter one step further, we can determine the probability of some event occurring. Then, we will use some criterion to judge whether we think that event is as likely, more likely, or less likely than what we would expect by chance. The research hypothesis presents a statement of the expected event, and we collect data and then use our statistical tools to evaluate how likely that event is. That’s the 20-second version of what inferential
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