Sign test overview

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Sign test	Binomial test for a single proportion	Goodness of fit test
Independent variable	Independent variable	Independent variable
2 paired groups	None	None
Dependent variable	Dependent variable	Dependent variable
One of ordinal level	One categorical with 2 independent groups	One categorical with $J$ independent groups ($J \geqslant 2$)
Null hypothesis	Null hypothesis	Null hypothesis
H₀: P(first score of a pair exceeds second score of a pair) = P(second score of a pair exceeds first score of a pair) If the dependent variable is measured on a continuous scale, this can also be formulated as: H₀: the population median of the difference scores is equal to zero A difference score is the difference between the first score of a pair and the second score of a pair.	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 proportions in each of the $J$ conditions are $\pi_1$, $\pi_2$, $\ldots$, $\pi_J$ or equivalently H₀: the probability of drawing an observation from condition 1 is $\pi_1$, the probability of drawing an observation from condition 2 is $\pi_2$, $\ldots$, the probability of drawing an observation from condition $J$ is $\pi_J$
Alternative hypothesis	Alternative hypothesis	Alternative hypothesis
H₁ two sided: P(first score of a pair exceeds second score of a pair) $\neq$ P(second score of a pair exceeds first score of a pair) H₁ right sided: P(first score of a pair exceeds second score of a pair) > P(second score of a pair exceeds first score of a pair) H₁ left sided: P(first score of a pair exceeds second score of a pair) < P(second score of a pair exceeds first score of a pair) If the dependent variable is measured on a continuous scale, this can also be formulated as: H₁ two sided: the population median of the difference scores is different from zero H₁ right sided: the population median of the difference scores is larger than zero H₁ left sided: the population median of the difference scores is smaller than zero	H₁ two sided: $\pi \neq \pi_0$ H₁ right sided: $\pi > \pi_0$ H₁ left sided: $\pi < \pi_0$	H₁: the population proportions are not all as specified under the null hypothesis or equivalently H₁: the probabilities of drawing an observation from each of the conditions are not all as specified under the null hypothesis
Assumptions	Assumptions	Assumptions
Sample of pairs is a simple random sample from the population of pairs. That is, pairs are independent of one another	Sample is a simple random sample from the population. That is, observations are independent of one another	Sample size is large enough for $X^2$ to be approximately chi-squared distributed. Rule of thumb: all $J$ expected cell counts are 5 or more Sample is a simple random sample from the population. That is, observations are independent of one another
Test statistic	Test statistic	Test statistic
$W = $ number of difference scores that is larger than 0	$X$ = number of successes in the sample	$X^2 = \sum{\frac{(\mbox{observed cell count} - \mbox{expected cell count})^2}{\mbox{expected cell count}}}$ Here the expected cell count for one cell = $N \times \pi_j$, the observed cell count is the observed sample count in that same cell, and the sum is over all $J$ cells.
Sampling distribution of $W$ if H₀ were true	Sampling distribution of $X$ if H0 were true	Sampling distribution of $X^2$ if H₀ were true
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.	Binomial($n$, $P$) distribution. Here $n = N$ (total sample size), and $P = \pi_0$ (population proportion according to the null hypothesis).	Approximately the chi-squared distribution with $J - 1$ degrees of freedom
Significant?	Significant?	Significant?
If $n$ is small, the table for the binomial distribution should be used: Two sided: Check if $W$ observed in sample is in the rejection region or Find two sided $p$ value corresponding to observed $W$ and check if it is equal to or smaller than $\alpha$ Right sided: Check if $W$ observed in sample is in the rejection region or Find right sided $p$ value corresponding to observed $W$ and check if it is equal to or smaller than $\alpha$ Left sided: Check if $W$ observed in sample is in the rejection region or Find left sided $p$ value corresponding to observed $W$ and check if it is equal to or smaller than $\alpha$ If $n$ is large, the table for standard normal probabilities can be used: Two sided: Check if $z$ observed in sample is at least as extreme as critical value $z^$ or Find two sided $p$ value corresponding to observed $z$ and check if it is equal to or smaller than $\alpha$ Right sided: Check if $z$ observed in sample is equal to or larger than critical value $z^$ or Find right sided $p$ value corresponding to observed $z$ and check if it is equal to or smaller than $\alpha$ Left sided: Check if $z$ observed in sample is equal to or smaller than critical value $z^*$ or Find left sided $p$ value corresponding to observed $z$ and check if it is equal to or smaller than $\alpha$	Two sided: Check if $X$ observed in sample is in the rejection region or Find two sided $p$ value corresponding to observed $X$ and check if it is equal to or smaller than $\alpha$ Right sided: Check if $X$ observed in sample is in the rejection region or Find right sided $p$ value corresponding to observed $X$ and check if it is equal to or smaller than $\alpha$ Left sided: Check if $X$ observed in sample is in the rejection region or Find left sided $p$ value corresponding to observed $X$ and check if it is equal to or smaller than $\alpha$	Check if $X^2$ observed in sample is equal to or larger than critical value $X^{2*}$ or Find $p$ value corresponding to observed $X^2$ and check if it is equal to or smaller than $\alpha$
Equivalent to	n.a.	n.a.
Two sided sign test is equivalent to McNemar's test: $W = b$, and $z^2 = X^2$ Friedman test with two related groups	-	-
Example context	Example context	Example context
Do people tend to score higher on mental health after a mindfulness course?	Is the proportion of smokers amongst office workers different from $\pi_0 = 0.2$?	Is the proportion of people with a low, moderate, and high social economic status in the population different from $\pi_{low} = 0.2,$ $\pi_{moderate} = 0.6,$ and $\pi_{high} = 0.2$?
SPSS	SPSS	SPSS
Analyze > Nonparametric Tests > Legacy Dialogs > 2 Related Samples... Put the two paired variables in the boxes below Variable 1 and Variable 2 Under Test Type, select the Sign test	Analyze > Nonparametric Tests > Legacy Dialogs > Binomial... Put your dichotomous variable in the box below Test Variable List Fill in the value for $\pi_0$ in the box next to Test Proportion	Analyze > Nonparametric Tests > Legacy Dialogs > Chi-square... Put your categorical variable in the box below Test Variable List Fill in the population proportions / probabilities according to $H_0$ in the box below Expected Values. If $H_0$ states that they are all equal, just pick 'All categories equal' (default)
Jamovi	Jamovi	Jamovi
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 Put the two paired variables in the box below Measures	Frequencies > 2 Outcomes - Binomial test Put your dichotomous variable in the white box at the right Fill in the value for $\pi_0$ in the box next to Test value Under Hypothesis, select your alternative hypothesis	Frequencies > N Outcomes - $\chi^2$ Goodness of fit Put your categorical variable in the box below Variable Click on Expected Proportions and fill in the population proportions / probabilities according to $H_0$ in the boxes below Ratio. If $H_0$ states that they are all equal, you can leave the ratios equal to the default values (1)
Practice questions	Practice questions	Practice questions

Sign test - overview