On a Roll this Morning...

I awoke at 3:15 this morning (yes, a Saturday morning) and the research problems were right there in my head.  So I got up to take advantage of that moment of "brilliance."  Now I need to write my null hypotheses.  

Thought the lost-socks-due-to-alien-burglary anecdote was cute (see previous post), I need a little more instruction.  Dr. S explained that a null hypothesis is:  "there is no difference between X and Y."  I found this on ehow.com - How to Write a Null Hypothesis.  

"A null hypothesis is defined as a statement of no change.  That is, a null hypothesis describes an outcome in which there is no statistical difference between the groups you are comparing [Dr. S's no difference between X and Y].  More specifically, if a null hypothesis is fulfilled, your original hypothesis is rejected."

Summarized:

1. Write the hypothesis (i.e., what I believe to be true).  Let's say my belief is the old adage:  You can't teach an old dog new tricks.
2. Turn this into a statement that indicates no difference between experimental groups:  Old dogs and younger dogs can (or can't) learn new tricks.