Is text messaging the preferred option for students’ communication with their professor? This was the question of interest in a study published in Chemical Engineering Education (Spring 2012). Students in two sections of a chemical engineering class participated in the study. One section (18 students) allowed text messaging in addition to the traditional means of communication with the instructor, such as email, phone, and face-to-face meetings; the other section (20 students) did not permit any text messaging. Both sections were taught by the same instructor. At the end of the semester, students responded to the survey item, “I like to interact with my professors by face-to-face meetings”. Possible responses were recorded on a 5-point scale, from I = “strongly disagree” to 5 = “strongly agree”. The median response for the students in the texting section was 5, while the median response for the students in the non texting section was 4. The two groups of students were compared using a Wilcoxon rank sum test.

a. Set up the null hypothesis for the test.

b. The observed significance level of the test was reported as p-value = .004. Interpret this result, practically. Which group of students has more of a preference for face-to-face meetings with their professor?