Researchers at a prominent university were interested in whether their university's study abroad program increases students' cultural competence (i.e., their ability to work effectively with different cultures). Measuring cultural competence with a test called the Cultural Competence Survey, researchers compared the scores of a group of students who spent the semester abroad, with a group of students who took the equivalent coursework on campus. Assume that the Cultural Competence Survey has demonstrated validity and reliability as a measure of cultural competence. Below are the scores for the two groups.

The hypothesized mean difference is 0. This is the null hypothesis.

The level of significance is .05 (alpha level) and a two-tailed hypothesis.

Study Abroad Group	On-campus Group
87	82
79	80
69	64
83	52
57	71
90	37
67	49
54	61
61	82
92	79
63	68
58	55
72	49
81	86
73	73
66	69
87	61
90	72
91	52
82	49
49	61
69	47
58	51
77	60
71	72
93	39
75	42
64	49
81	59
83	67

QUESTIONS:

1. Why would we use an independent samples t test for this research?
2. What is the calculated value of the test statistic (t)?
3. What is the associated p-value?
4. Is the difference between the two groups statistically significant?
5. What can you conclude?
6. Are there any design flaws in the study that may bring the results into question? Explain.