1. The researcher conducted a t-test resulting in $t(14) = 2.25$ with a $p$-value less than $0.05$. 2. The significance level (alpha) is $\alpha = 0.05$. 3. Since $p < 0.05$, the result is statistically significant, indicating that the null hypothesis can be rejected. 4. Rejecting the null hypothesis means the sample mean differs significantly from the population mean. Final conclusion: The sample mean differs significantly from the population mean.