Two sample t test - equal variances assumed - overview
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Two sample $t$ test - equal variances assumed | $z$ test for a single proportion | Friedman test |
You cannot compare more than 3 methods |
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Independent/grouping variable | Independent variable | Independent/grouping variable | |
One categorical with 2 independent groups | None | One within subject factor ($\geq 2$ related groups) | |
Dependent variable | Dependent variable | Dependent variable | |
One quantitative of interval or ratio level | One categorical with 2 independent groups | One of ordinal level | |
Null hypothesis | Null hypothesis | Null hypothesis | |
H0: $\mu_1 = \mu_2$
Here $\mu_1$ is the population mean for group 1, and $\mu_2$ is the population mean for group 2. | H0: $\pi = \pi_0$
Here $\pi$ is the population proportion of 'successes', and $\pi_0$ is the population proportion of successes according to the null hypothesis. | H0: the population scores in any of the related groups are not systematically higher or lower than the population scores in any of the other related groups
Usually the related groups are the different measurement points. Several different formulations of the null hypothesis can be found in the literature, and we do not agree with all of them. Make sure you (also) learn the one that is given in your text book or by your teacher. | |
Alternative hypothesis | Alternative hypothesis | Alternative hypothesis | |
H1 two sided: $\mu_1 \neq \mu_2$ H1 right sided: $\mu_1 > \mu_2$ H1 left sided: $\mu_1 < \mu_2$ | H1 two sided: $\pi \neq \pi_0$ H1 right sided: $\pi > \pi_0$ H1 left sided: $\pi < \pi_0$ | H1: the population scores in some of the related groups are systematically higher or lower than the population scores in other related groups | |
Assumptions | Assumptions | Assumptions | |
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Test statistic | Test statistic | Test statistic | |
$t = \dfrac{(\bar{y}_1 - \bar{y}_2) - 0}{s_p\sqrt{\dfrac{1}{n_1} + \dfrac{1}{n_2}}} = \dfrac{\bar{y}_1 - \bar{y}_2}{s_p\sqrt{\dfrac{1}{n_1} + \dfrac{1}{n_2}}}$
Here $\bar{y}_1$ is the sample mean in group 1, $\bar{y}_2$ is the sample mean in group 2, $s_p$ is the pooled standard deviation, $n_1$ is the sample size of group 1, and $n_2$ is the sample size of group 2. The 0 represents the difference in population means according to the null hypothesis. The denominator $s_p\sqrt{\dfrac{1}{n_1} + \dfrac{1}{n_2}}$ is the standard error of the sampling distribution of $\bar{y}_1 - \bar{y}_2$. The $t$ value indicates how many standard errors $\bar{y}_1 - \bar{y}_2$ is removed from 0. Note: we could just as well compute $\bar{y}_2 - \bar{y}_1$ in the numerator, but then the left sided alternative becomes $\mu_2 < \mu_1$, and the right sided alternative becomes $\mu_2 > \mu_1$. | $z = \dfrac{p - \pi_0}{\sqrt{\dfrac{\pi_0(1 - \pi_0)}{N}}}$
Here $p$ is the sample proportion of successes: $\dfrac{X}{N}$, $N$ is the sample size, and $\pi_0$ is the population proportion of successes according to the null hypothesis. | $Q = \dfrac{12}{N \times k(k + 1)} \sum R^2_i - 3 \times N(k + 1)$
Here $N$ is the number of 'blocks' (usually the subjects - so if you have 4 repeated measurements for 60 subjects, $N$ equals 60), $k$ is the number of related groups (usually the number of repeated measurements), and $R_i$ is the sum of ranks in group $i$. Remember that multiplication precedes addition, so first compute $\frac{12}{N \times k(k + 1)} \times \sum R^2_i$ and then subtract $3 \times N(k + 1)$. Note: if ties are present in the data, the formula for $Q$ is more complicated. | |
Pooled standard deviation | n.a. | n.a. | |
$s_p = \sqrt{\dfrac{(n_1 - 1) \times s^2_1 + (n_2 - 1) \times s^2_2}{n_1 + n_2 - 2}}$ | - | - | |
Sampling distribution of $t$ if H0 were true | Sampling distribution of $z$ if H0 were true | Sampling distribution of $Q$ if H0 were true | |
$t$ distribution with $n_1 + n_2 - 2$ degrees of freedom | Approximately the standard normal distribution | If the number of blocks $N$ is large, approximately the chi-squared distribution with $k - 1$ degrees of freedom.
For small samples, the exact distribution of $Q$ should be used. | |
Significant? | Significant? | Significant? | |
Two sided:
| Two sided:
| If the number of blocks $N$ is large, the table with critical $X^2$ values can be used. If we denote $X^2 = Q$:
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$C\%$ confidence interval for $\mu_1 - \mu_2$ | Approximate $C\%$ confidence interval for $\pi$ | n.a. | |
$(\bar{y}_1 - \bar{y}_2) \pm t^* \times s_p\sqrt{\dfrac{1}{n_1} + \dfrac{1}{n_2}}$
where the critical value $t^*$ is the value under the $t_{n_1 + n_2 - 2}$ distribution with the area $C / 100$ between $-t^*$ and $t^*$ (e.g. $t^*$ = 2.086 for a 95% confidence interval when df = 20). The confidence interval for $\mu_1 - \mu_2$ can also be used as significance test. | Regular (large sample):
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Effect size | n.a. | n.a. | |
Cohen's $d$: Standardized difference between the mean in group $1$ and in group $2$: $$d = \frac{\bar{y}_1 - \bar{y}_2}{s_p}$$ Cohen's $d$ indicates how many standard deviations $s_p$ the two sample means are removed from each other. | - | - | |
Visual representation | n.a. | n.a. | |
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Equivalent to | Equivalent to | n.a. | |
One way ANOVA with an independent variable with 2 levels ($I$ = 2):
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Example context | Example context | Example context | |
Is the average mental health score different between men and women? Assume that in the population, the standard deviation of mental health scores is equal amongst men and women. | Is the proportion of smokers amongst office workers different from $\pi_0 = 0.2$? Use the normal approximation for the sampling distribution of the test statistic. | Is there a difference in depression level between measurement point 1 (pre-intervention), measurement point 2 (1 week post-intervention), and measurement point 3 (6 weeks post-intervention)? | |
SPSS | SPSS | SPSS | |
Analyze > Compare Means > Independent-Samples T Test...
| Analyze > Nonparametric Tests > Legacy Dialogs > Binomial...
| Analyze > Nonparametric Tests > Legacy Dialogs > K Related Samples...
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Jamovi | Jamovi | Jamovi | |
T-Tests > Independent Samples T-Test
| Frequencies > 2 Outcomes - Binomial test
| ANOVA > Repeated Measures ANOVA - Friedman
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Practice questions | Practice questions | Practice questions | |