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BSCI 1510L Literature and Stats Guide: 12 Summary of statistical tests

Introduction to Biological Sciences lab, first semester

12 Summary of statistical tests

Criteria for choosing the correct test:

t test of means:

–values are continuous

–there is no reason why a particular value in one group would be related to a particular value in the other group

–comparing two group means

paired t test:

–values are continuous

–there is a connection between particular values in one group and corresponding values in the other group

–comparing differences between pairs of values in the two groups

linear regression:

–values are continuous

–values representing the experimental factor vary continuously rather than fall into discrete categories

–determining whether the line of best fit has a slope greater than zero

 

 

Appropriate null hypotheses for the statistical tests discussed: (NOTE, these are generalized forms and should be adjusted for the specific factor(s)/group(s) being tested)

t test of means:

–The means of the two groups are the same (i.e. differences in sample means are due only to chance).

paired t test:

–The difference between pairs of blocked data is zero (i.e. pairs of blocked data deviate randomly)

linear regression:

–The slope of the best fit line through the data is zero (i.e. deviations from a best-fit line having slope of zero are random).