A pair of newspaper articles published sideby-side in 2005 presented two conflicting points of view. The first is "Random Student Drug Testing Works: It's About Public Health-Identifying Individuals Who Need Help and Treatment-Not Punishment," by the director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.17 The second is "Don't Believe The Hype: Random Drug Testing, a Humiliating Violation of Privacy, Has Not Been Proven to Deter Drug Use," by the director of the Safety First drug education project at the Drug Policy Alliance.18
a. Presumably both of the writers considered evidence from studies about the same two categorical variables. Briefly describe the variables, identifying which is explanatory and which is response.
b. What does the null hypothesis say about the relationship between those two variables?
c. Has the writer of the first article rejected that null hypothesis?
d. If that writer is wrong, has he committed a Type I or Type II Error?
e. Briefly describe the potential harmful consequences of committing this type of error in these particular circumstances.
f. Has the writer of the second article rejected the null hypothesis?
g. If that writer is wrong, has she committed a Type I or Type II Error?
h. Briefly describe the potential harmful consequences of committing this type of error in these particular circumstances.