Friedman test - overview
This page offers structured overviews of one or more selected methods. Add additional methods for comparisons (max. of 3) by clicking on the dropdown button in the right-hand column. To practice with a specific method click the button at the bottom row of the table
Friedman test | Sign test | Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon test |
You cannot compare more than 3 methods |
---|---|---|---|
Independent/grouping variable | Independent variable | Independent/grouping variable | |
One within subject factor ($\geq 2$ related groups) | 2 paired groups | One categorical with 2 independent groups | |
Dependent variable | Dependent variable | Dependent variable | |
One of ordinal level | One of ordinal level | One of ordinal level | |
Null hypothesis | Null hypothesis | 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. |
| If the dependent variable is measured on a continuous scale and the shape of the distribution of the dependent variable is the same in both populations:
Formulation 1:
| |
Alternative hypothesis | Alternative hypothesis | Alternative hypothesis | |
H1: the population scores in some of the related groups are systematically higher or lower than the population scores in other related groups |
| If the dependent variable is measured on a continuous scale and the shape of the distribution of the dependent variable is the same in both populations:
Formulation 1:
| |
Assumptions | Assumptions | Assumptions | |
|
|
| |
Test statistic | Test statistic | Test statistic | |
$Q = \dfrac{12}{N \times k(k + 1)} \sum R^2_i - 3 \times N(k + 1)$
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. | $W = $ number of difference scores that is larger than 0 | Two different types of test statistics can be used; both will result in the same test outcome. The first is the Wilcoxon rank sum statistic $W$:
Note: we could just as well base W and U on group 2. This would only 'flip' the right and left sided alternative hypotheses. Also, tables with critical values for $U$ are often based on the smaller of $U$ for group 1 and for group 2. | |
Sampling distribution of $Q$ if H0 were true | Sampling distribution of $W$ if H0 were true | Sampling distribution of $W$ and of $U$ if H0 were true | |
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. | The exact distribution of $W$ under the null hypothesis is the Binomial($n$, $P$) distribution, with $n =$ number of positive differences $+$ number of negative differences, and $P = 0.5$.
If $n$ is large, $W$ is approximately normally distributed under the null hypothesis, with mean $nP = n \times 0.5$ and standard deviation $\sqrt{nP(1-P)} = \sqrt{n \times 0.5(1 - 0.5)}$. Hence, if $n$ is large, the standardized test statistic $$z = \frac{W - n \times 0.5}{\sqrt{n \times 0.5(1 - 0.5)}}$$ follows approximately the standard normal distribution if the null hypothesis were true. | Sampling distribution of $W$:
Sampling distribution of $U$: For small samples, the exact distribution of $W$ or $U$ should be used. Note: if ties are present in the data, the formula for the standard deviations $\sigma_W$ and $\sigma_U$ is more complicated. | |
Significant? | Significant? | Significant? | |
If the number of blocks $N$ is large, the table with critical $X^2$ values can be used. If we denote $X^2 = Q$:
| If $n$ is small, the table for the binomial distribution should be used: Two sided:
If $n$ is large, the table for standard normal probabilities can be used: Two sided:
| For large samples, the table for standard normal probabilities can be used: Two sided:
| |
n.a. | Equivalent to | Equivalent to | |
- |
Two sided sign test is equivalent to
| If there are no ties in the data, the two sided Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon test is equivalent to the Kruskal-Wallis test with an independent variable with 2 levels ($I$ = 2). | |
Example context | Example context | Example context | |
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)? | Do people tend to score higher on mental health after a mindfulness course? | Do men tend to score higher on social economic status than women? | |
SPSS | SPSS | SPSS | |
Analyze > Nonparametric Tests > Legacy Dialogs > K Related Samples...
| Analyze > Nonparametric Tests > Legacy Dialogs > 2 Related Samples...
| Analyze > Nonparametric Tests > Legacy Dialogs > 2 Independent Samples...
| |
Jamovi | Jamovi | Jamovi | |
ANOVA > Repeated Measures ANOVA - Friedman
| Jamovi does not have a specific option for the sign test. However, you can do the Friedman test instead. The $p$ value resulting from this Friedman test is equivalent to the two sided $p$ value that would have resulted from the sign test. Go to:
ANOVA > Repeated Measures ANOVA - Friedman
| T-Tests > Independent Samples T-Test
| |
Practice questions | Practice questions | Practice questions | |