A statistical hypothesis that contradicts the null hypothesis by proposing that a relationship, difference, or effect does exist between variables. It represents what the researcher expects or hopes to find.
Developed alongside the null hypothesis concept by Fisher and later refined by Neyman and Pearson in the 1930s. 'Alternative' indicates it provides an alternative explanation to the null hypothesis of no effect or relationship.
The alternative hypothesis is your research hunch made formal! It can be directional (predicting which group will be higher) or non-directional (just predicting a difference exists), and choosing wrong affects your statistical power.
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