Introduction to t-statistics

What have we done so far?

 Hypothesis Testing & Inferential Statistics
alpha levels, cut-offs, p-value One-tailed vs. Two-tailed tests

◦ Goal: Estimate likelihood of obtaining sample mean

given some known population parameters (μ and σ)
◦ What if we didn’t know all of the population parameters?
t-statistics
 The t statistic is used to test hypotheses about
an unknown population mean, μ, when the value
of σ is unknown. The formula for the t statistic
has the same structure as the z-score formula,
except that the t statistic uses the estimated
standard error in the denominator.
Parametric tests vs. Non-parametric tests

 Parametric tests
◦ Assumes that the source population is normally
distributed
 Non-parametric tests
◦ Does not make assumptions on the source
population
One Tailed vs. Two Tailed Tests
Assumptions of t-tests
 The t test is a parametric test, as is the z test. As a
parametric test, the t test must meet certain
assumptions.
 These assumptions include that the data are
◦ interval or ratio and that the population from which
the samples are drawn is normal.
◦ The t test is used in situations that meet these
assumptions and in which the population mean is
known, but the population standard deviation (s) is
not known, and sample size is less than 30.
 In cases where these criteria are not met, a
nonparametric test such as a chi-square test is more
appropriate.
Degrees of Freedom and the t statistic
 The basic difference between these two is that the t
statistic uses sample variance, and the z-score uses the
population variance.
 Suppose we select a sample of n = 3 scores and
compute a mean of M = 5. The first two scores in the
sample have no restrictions; they are independent of
each other and they can have any values. For this
demonstration, we will assume that we obtained X = 2
for the first score and X = 9 for the second. At this
point, however, the third score in the sample is
restricted.
Degrees of Freedom and the t statistic
 Degrees of freedom describe the number of scores in a
sample that are independent and free to vary. Because
the sample mean places a restriction on the value of
one score in the sample, there are n – 1 degrees of
freedom for a sample with n scores.

 The most commonly encountered equation to

determine degrees of freedom in statistics is df = n-1.
Steps for Hypothesis Testing
1. State research question
2. State hypothesis
3. Determine appropriate test
4. Select alpha level
5. State decision rule
6. Run the test
7. State the statistical conclusion
T-test for Population mean
 Also known as one sample t-test
 Compare sample mean to a population mean

 Assume the mean SAT score of students admitted to

New Era University is 1090. Thus, the university mean of
1090 is the population mean (m). The population
standard deviation is unknown. The members of the
biology department believe that students who decide to
major in biology have higher SAT scores than the
general population of students at the university.
Steps for Hypothesis Testing
1. State research question
▪ Is Biology department have higher SAT scores from the university
population?
2. State hypothesis
▪ Null: The biology department have lower scores than the general
population of students at the university
▪ Alternative: The biology department have higher scores than the general
population of students at the university
3. Determine appropriate test – One sample t-test
4. Select alpha level
5. State decision rule
6. Run the test
7. State the statistical conclusion
Steps for Hypothesis Testing
1. State research question
▪ Is Biology department have higher SAT scores from the university
population?
2. State hypothesis
▪ Null: The biology department have lower scores than the general
population of students at the university
▪ Alternative: The biology department have higher scores than the general
population of students at the university
3. Determine appropriate test – One sample t-test
4. Select alpha level = let 𝛼 = .05
5. State decision rule = If p < .05, the null hypothesis is rejected.
6. Run the test
7. State the statistical conclusion
T-test for Population mean
T-test for Population mean
T-test for Population mean
T-test for Population mean

Reporting in APA style

t (9) = 2.06, p = .035 (one-tailed).
Steps for Hypothesis Testing
State research question
Is Biology department have higher SAT scores from the university
population?
State hypothesis
=Null: The biology department have lower scores than the general
population of students at the university
=Alternative: The biology department have higher scores than the
general population of students at the university
Determine appropriate test – One sample t-test
Steps for Hypothesis Testing
Select alpha level = let 𝛼 = .05
State decision rule = If p < .05, the null hypothesis is rejected.
Run the test.
State the statistical conclusion

Reject Ho. The biology department have higher scores than the general
population of students at the university, t (9) = 2.06, p = .035 (one-tailed). The
biology department has a mean of 1176, higher than the university mean of
1090.
Seatwork
 A researcher hypothesizes that people who listen
to classical music have higher concentration skills
than those in the general population. On a
standard concentration test, the overall mean is
15.5. The researcher gave this same test to a
random sample of 12 individuals who regularly
listen to classical music. Their scores on the test
follow: 16, 14, 20, 12, 25, 22, 23, 19, 17, 17, 21,
20.

1. Calculate for the t-test using SPSS.

2. Follow the steps in hypothesis testing.
T-test for Independent means
 Also known as two-sample t-test
 Two distinct groups are being measured
 Control vs. treatment group design

 The independent-groups t test is a parametric statistical

test that compares the means of two different samples
of participants. It indicates whether the two samples
perform so similarly that we conclude they are likely
from the same population or whether they perform so
differently that we conclude they represent two
different populations.
Independent t-tests

A researcher wants to study the effects on exam

performance of massed versus spaced study. All
subjects in the experiment study the same material
for the same amount of time. The difference
between the groups is that one group studies for 6
hours all at once (massed study), whereas the
other group studies for 6 hours broken into three
2-hour blocks (spaced study).
Independent t-tests
Steps for Hypothesis Testing
1. State research question
2. State hypothesis
3. Determine appropriate test
4. Select alpha level
5. State decision rule
6. Run the test
7. State the statistical conclusion
Independent t-tests
Independent t-tests
Independent t-tests
State the Conclusion
There is a significant difference in the exam score between spaced
study and massed study, t (18)= 4.993, p < .05, two tails. The mean
score of spaced study is 22 which is significantly greater than mean
scores of massed study which is 16.80
T-test for Dependent mean
 Also known as paired t-tests
 Same group measured twice
 Pre-and posts test designs

 In this case, however, the same people are used in each

group (a within-subjects design) or different participants
are matched between groups (a matched-subjects
design). The test indicates whether there is a difference
in the sample means and whether this difference is
greater than would be expected based on chance. In a
correlated-groups design, the sample includes two
scores for each person, instead of just one.
Dependent t-tests

To illustrate the use of the correlated-groups t test,

imagine that we conduct a study in which subjects
are asked to learn two lists of words. One list is
composed of 20 concrete words (for example, desk,
lamp, bus); the other is 20 abstract words (for
example, love, hate, deity). Each subject is tested
twice, once in each condition
Dependent t-tests
Steps for Hypothesis Testing
1. State research question
2. State hypothesis
3. Determine appropriate test
4. Select alpha level
5. State decision rule
6. Run the test
7. State the statistical conclusion
Seatwork (Breakout rooms)
1. A college student is interested in whether there is a difference
between male and female students in the amount of time spent doing
volunteer work each week. The student gathers information from a
random sample of male and female students on her campus. The
amount of time volunteering (in minutes) is normally distributed.
Males = 20, 25, 35, 40, 36, 24, 33, 36
Females = 35, 39, 29, 22, 24, 50, 15, 29

 Use appropriate t-tests for this example.

 Follow the steps in hypothesis testing.
Seatwork (Breakout rooms)
A researcher is interested in whether participating in sports positively
influences self-esteem in young girls. She identifies a group of girls
who have not played sports before but are now planning to begin
participating in organized sports. The researcher gives a 50-item self-
esteem inventory before they begin playing sports and administers
the same test again after 6 months of playing sports. The self-esteem
inventory is measured on an interval scale, with higher numbers
indicating higher self-esteem. In addition, scores on the inventory are
normally distributed. The scores follow:
Before After
44 46
40 41
39 41
46 47
42 43
43 45
40 39