Lesson 4
Lesson 4
Aim
The independent t-test is used for testing the difference between
the means of two independent groups. It is particularly useful
when the research question requires the comparison of variables
obtained from two independent samples. For example:
• “Do males and females differ in performance on a standardized
achievement test?”
• “What is the effect of drug vs. no drug on rats’ maze-learning
behavior?”
• “Does the recidivism rate of juvenile offenders who are provided
with father figures differ from those without father figures?”
Checklist of Requirements
• Homogeneity of variance.
• Level of Measurement
• Random Sampling
• Independence of Observations
Example
Males Females
s1 16 s11 24
s2 14 s12 23
s3 18 s13 26
s4 25 s14 17
s5 17 s15 18
s6 14 s16 20
s7 19 s17 23
s8 21 s18 26
s9 16 s19 24
s10 17 s20 20
Data Entry Format
The data set has been saved under the name: EX4.SAV.
1.From the menu bar, click Analyze , then Compare Means , and then Independent-
Samples T-test.
3.Click to define the range for the grouping variable of GENDER (coded 1 =
male, 2 = female). When the following Define Groups window opens, type 1 in the
Group 1 field and 2 in the Group 2 field, and then click.
4. When the following Independent-Samples T Test window opens, run the T-Test
analysis by clicking .
SPSS Output
Results and Interpretation