The independent t-test, also known as the two-sample t-test, is a statistical hypothesis test used to
determine whether there is a statistically significant difference between the means of two
independent groups. Here's a breakdown:
Purpose:
To compare the means of two separate groups.
To determine if the observed difference between the means is likely to have occurred by
chance.
Key Assumptions:
Independence: The observations within each group are independent of each other.
Normality: The data within each group are approximately normally distributed.
Homogeneity of variance: The variances of the two groups are approximately equal. (Levene's
test is often used to check this.)
Equation:
The formula for the independent t-test can vary slightly depending on whether the variances of the
two groups are assumed to be equal or unequal.
Equal variances assumed (pooled variance):
Xˉ 1 − Xˉ 2
t=
1 1
sp
n1
+ n2
Where:
Xˉ 1 and Xˉ 2 are the sample means of the two groups.
n1 and n2 are the sample sizes of the two groups.
sp is the pooled standard deviation.
Unequal variances assumed (Welch's t-test):
Xˉ 1 − Xˉ 2
<2>t=
s21 s22
+
n1 n2
Where:
Xˉ 1 and Xˉ 2 are the sample means of the two groups.
n1 and n2 are the sample sizes of the two groups.
s21 and s22 are the sample variances of the two groups.
Simple Example:
Let's say we want to know if there's a significant difference in test scores between two groups of
students: Group A and Group B.
Group A: Students who received extra tutoring.
Group B: Students who did not receive extra tutoring.
Here are the test scores:
Group A: 85, 90, 92, 88, 95
Group B: 78, 82, 80, 85, 75
Solution:
1. Calculate the means:
Mean of Group A (Xˉ 1 ): 90
ˉ
Mean of Group B (X2 ): 80
2. Calculate the standard deviations (or variances):
using a calculator or statistical program, you would get the standard deviations of each
group.
3. Determine if variances are equal:
This is often done using a Levene's Test. For simplicity, lets assume for this example, we
have done that, and have determined that the variances are close enough to equal.
4. Calculate the t-statistic:
using the equal variance formula, and the standard deviations, and sample sizes, you
would calculate the t value.
5. Determine the degrees of freedom:
df = n1 + n2 - 2
df = 5+5-2 = 8
6. Compare the calculated t-statistic to the critical t-value:
Using a t-distribution table or statistical software, we compare our calculated t-statistic to
the critical t-value at a chosen significance level (e.g., 0.05).
7. Draw a conclusion:
If the absolute value of the calculated t-statistic is greater than the critical t-value, we reject
the null hypothesis (that the means are equal) and conclude that there is a statistically
significant difference between the test scores of the two groups.
If the absolute value of the calculated t-statistic is less than the critical t-value, we fail to
reject the null hypothesis, and conclude that there is not a statisticaly significant difference
between the test scores of the two groups.
It is important to remember that statistical software is almost always used to perform these
calculations in real world applications.
