CHI-SQUARE TEST OF INDEPENDENCE

Chi-Square Test of Independence

The Chi-Square Test of Independence determines whether there is an association between

categorical variables (i.e., whether the variables are independent or related). It is a nonparametric
test.

This test is also known as:

• Chi-Square Test of Association.

This test utilizes a contingency table to analyze the data. A contingency table (also known as
a cross-tabulation, crosstab, or two-way table) is an arrangement in which data is classified
according to two categorical variables. The categories for one variable appear in the rows, and the
categories for the other variable appear in columns. Each variable must have two or more
categories. Each cell reflects the total count of cases for a specific pair of categories.

There are several tests that go by the name "chi-square test" in addition to the Chi-Square Test of
Independence. Look for context clues in the data and research question to make sure what form of
the chi-square test is being used.
Common Uses

The Chi-Square Test of Independence is commonly used to test the following:

• Statistical independence or association between two categorical variables.

The Chi-Square Test of Independence can only compare categorical variables. It cannot make
comparisons between continuous variables or between categorical and continuous variables.
Additionally, the Chi-Square Test of Independence only assesses associations between categorical
variables, and can not provide any inferences about causation.

If your categorical variables represent "pre-test" and "post-test" observations, then the chi-
square test of independence is not appropriate. This is because the assumption of the
independence of observations is violated. In this situation, McNemar's Test is appropriate.
Data Requirements

Your data must meet the following requirements:

1. Two categorical variables.

2. Two or more categories (groups) for each variable.
3. Independence of observations.
• There is no relationship between the subjects in each group.
• The categorical variables are not "paired" in any way (e.g. pre-test/post-test observations).
 4. Relatively large sample size.
• Expected frequencies for each cell are at least 1.
• Expected frequencies should be at least 5 for the majority (80%) of the cells.
Hypotheses

The null hypothesis (H0) and alternative hypothesis (H1) of the Chi-Square Test of Independence
can be expressed in two different but equivalent ways:

H0: "[Variable 1] is independent of [Variable 2]"

H1: "[Variable 1] is not independent of [Variable 2]"

OR

H0: "[Variable 1] is not associated with [Variable 2]"

H1: "[Variable 1] is associated with [Variable 2]"

Test Statistic

The test statistic for the Chi-Square Test of Independence is denoted Χ2, and is computed as:

χ2=∑i=1R∑j=1C(oij−eij)2eijχ2=∑i=1R∑j=1C(oij−eij)2eij

where

oijoij is the observed cell count in the i row and j column of the table
th th

eijeij is the expected cell count in the i row and j column of the table, computed as
th th

eij=row i total∗col j totalgrand totaleij=row i total∗col j totalgrand total

The quantity (oij - eij) is sometimes referred to as the residual of cell (i, j), denoted rijrij.

The calculated Χ2 value is then compared to the critical value from the Χ2 distribution table with
degrees of freedom df = (R - 1)(C - 1) and chosen confidence level. If the calculated Χ2 value >
critical Χ2 value, then we reject the null hypothesis.

Data Set-Up

There are two different ways in which your data may be set up initially. The format of the data will
determine how to proceed with running the Chi-Square Test of Independence. At minimum, your
data should include two categorical variables (represented in columns) that will be used in the
analysis. The categorical variables must include at least two groups. Your data may be formatted in
either of the following ways:
 IF YOU HAVE THE RAW DATA (EACH ROW IS A SUBJECT):

• Cases represent subjects, and each subject appears once in the dataset. That is, each row represents an
observation from a unique subject.
• The dataset contains at least two nominal categorical variables (string or numeric). The categorical variables
used in the test must have two or more categories.
IF YOU HAVE FREQUENCIES (EACH ROW IS A COMBINATION OF
FACTORS):

An example of using the chi-square test for this type of data can be found in the Weighting
Cases tutorial.

• Cases represent the combinations of categories for the variables.

• Each row in the dataset represents a distinct combination of the categories.
• The value in the "frequency" column for a given row is the number of unique subjects with that
combination of categories.
• You should have three variables: one representing each category, and a third representing the number of
occurrences of that particular combination of factors.
• Before running the test, you must activate Weight Cases, and set the frequency variable as the weight.
Run a Chi-Square Test of Independence

In SPSS, the Chi-Square Test of Independence is an option within the Crosstabs procedure. Recall
that the Crosstabs procedure creates a contingency table or two-way table, which summarizes the
distribution of two categorical variables.
To create a crosstab and perform a chi-square test of independence, click Analyze > Descriptive
Statistics > Crosstabs.

A Row(s): One or more variables to use in the rows of the crosstab(s). You must enter at least

one Row variable.

B Column(s): One or more variables to use in the columns of the crosstab(s). You must enter at

least one Column variable.

Also note that if you specify one row variable and two or more column variables, SPSS will print
crosstabs for each pairing of the row variable with the column variables. The same is true if you
have one column variable and two or more row variables, or if you have multiple row and column
variables. A chi-square test will be produced for each table. Additionally, if you include a layer
variable, chi-square tests will be run for each pair of row and column variables within each level of
the layer variable.

C Layer: An optional "stratification" variable. If you have turned on the chi-square test results

and have specified a layer variable, SPSS will subset the data with respect to the categories of the
layer variable, then run chi-square tests between the row and column variables. (This
is not equivalent to testing for a three-way association, or testing for an association between the
row and column variable after controlling for the layer variable.)

D Statistics: Opens the Crosstabs: Statistics window, which contains fifteen different inferential

statistics for comparing categorical variables.

To run the Chi-Square Test of Independence, make sure that the Chi-square box is checked.

E Cells: Opens the Crosstabs: Cell Display window, which controls which output is displayed in

each cell of the crosstab. (Note: in a crosstab, the cells are the inner sections of the table. They
show the number of observations for a given combination of the row and column categories.)
There are three options in this window that are useful (but optional) when performing a Chi-
Square Test of Independence:
1 Observed: The actual number of observations for a given cell. This option is enabled by

default.

2 Expected: The expected number of observations for that cell (see the test statistic formula).

3 Unstandardized Residuals: The "residual" value, computed as observed minus expected.

F Format: Opens the Crosstabs: Table Format window, which specifies how the rows of the

table are sorted.

Example: Chi-square Test for 3x2 Table

PROBLEM STATEMENT

In the sample dataset, respondents were asked their gender and whether or not they were a
cigarette smoker. There were three answer choices: Nonsmoker, Past smoker, and Current smoker.
Suppose we want to test for an association between smoking behavior (nonsmoker, current
smoker, or past smoker) and gender (male or female) using a Chi-Square Test of Independence
(we'll use α = 0.05).

BEFORE THE TEST

Before we test for "association", it is helpful to understand what an "association" and a "lack of
association" between two categorical variables looks like. One way to visualize this is using
clustered bar charts. Let's look at the clustered bar chart produced by the Crosstabs procedure.

This is the chart that is produced if you use Smoking as the row variable and Gender as the column
variable (running the syntax later in this example):
The "clusters" in a clustered bar chart are determined by the row variable (in this case, the
smoking categories). The color of the bars is determined by the column variable (in this case,
gender). The height of each bar represents the total number of observations in that particular
combination of categories.

This type of chart emphasizes the differences within the categories of the row variable. Notice how
within each smoking category, the heights of the bars (i.e., the number of males and females) are
very similar. That is, there are an approximately equal number of male and female nonsmokers;
approximately equal number of male and female past smokers; approximately equal number of
male and female current smokers. If there were an association between gender and smoking, we
would expect these counts to differ between groups in some way.

RUNNING THE TEST

1. Open the Crosstabs dialog (Analyze > Descriptive Statistics > Crosstabs).
2. Select Smoking as the row variable, and Gender as the column variable.
3. Click Statistics. Check Chi-square, then click Continue.
4. (Optional) Check the box for Display clustered bar charts.
5. Click OK.
Syntax

CROSSTABS
/TABLES=Smoking BY Gender
/FORMAT=AVALUE TABLES
/STATISTICS=CHISQ
/CELLS=COUNT
/COUNT ROUND CELL
/BARCHART.
 OUTPUT
Tables

The first table is the Case Processing summary, which tells us the number of valid cases used for
analysis. Only cases with nonmissing values for both smoking behavior and gender can be used in
the test.

The next tables are the crosstabulation and chi-square test results.

The key result in the Chi-Square Tests table is the Pearson Chi-Square.

• The value of the test statistic is 3.171.

• The footnote for this statistic pertains to the expected cell count assumption (i.e., expected cell counts are all
greater than 5): no cells had an expected count less than 5, so this assumption was met.
• Because the test statistic is based on a 3x2 crosstabulation table, the degrees of freedom (df) for the test
statistic is
df=(R−1)∗(C−1)=(3−1)∗(2−1)=2∗1=2df=(R−1)∗(C−1)=(3−1)∗(2−1)=2∗1=2
.

• The corresponding p-value of the test statistic is p = 0.205.

 DECISION AND CONCLUSIONS

Since the p-value is greater than our chosen significance level (α = 0.05), we do not reject the null
hypothesis. Rather, we conclude that there is not enough evidence to suggest an association
between gender and smoking.

Based on the results, we can state the following:

• No association was found between gender and smoking behavior (Χ2(2)> = 3.171, p = 0.205).
Example: Chi-square Test for 2x2 Table
PROBLEM STATEMENT

Let's continue the row and column percentage example from the Crosstabs tutorial, which
described the relationship between the
variables RankUpperUnder (upperclassman/underclassman) and LivesOnCampus (lives on
campus/lives off-campus). Recall that the column percentages of the crosstab appeared to indicate
that upperclassmen were less likely than underclassmen to live on campus:

• The proportion of underclassmen who live off campus is 34.8%, or 79/227.

• The proportion of underclassmen who live on campus is 65.2%, or 148/227.
• The proportion of upperclassmen who live off campus is 94.4%, or 152/161.
• The proportion of upperclassmen who live on campus is 5.6%, or 9/161.

Suppose that we want to test the association between class rank and living on campus using a Chi-
Square Test of Independence (using α = 0.05).

BEFORE THE TEST

The clustered bar chart from the Crosstabs procedure can act as a complement to the column
percentages above. Let's look at the chart produced by the Crosstabs procedure for this example:
The height of each bar represents the total number of observations in that particular combination
of categories. The "clusters" are formed by the row variable (in this case, class rank). This type of
chart emphasizes the differences within the underclassmen and upperclassmen groups. Here, the
differences in number of students living on campus versus living off-campus is much starker
within the class rank groups.

RUNNING THE TEST

1. Open the Crosstabs dialog (Analyze > Descriptive Statistics > Crosstabs).
2. Select RankUpperUnder as the row variable, and LiveOnCampus as the column variable.
3. Click Statistics. Check Chi-square, then click Continue.
4. (Optional) Click Cells. Under Counts, check the boxes for Observed and Expected, and under Residuals,
click Unstandardized. Then click Continue.
5. (Optional) Check the box for Display clustered bar charts.
6. Click OK.
OUTPUT
Syntax

CROSSTABS
/TABLES=RankUpperUnder BY LiveOnCampus
/FORMAT=AVALUE TABLES
/STATISTICS=CHISQ
/CELLS=COUNT EXPECTED RESID
/COUNT ROUND CELL
/BARCHART.

Tables

The first table is the Case Processing summary, which tells us the number of valid cases used for
analysis. Only cases with nonmissing values for both class rank and living on campus can be used
in the test.

The next table is the crosstabulation. If you elected to check off the boxes for Observed Count,
Expected Count, and Unstandardized Residuals, you should see the following table:
With the Expected Count values shown, we can confirm that all cells have an expected value
greater than 5.

Computation of the expected cell counts and residuals (observed minus expected) for the crosstabulation of class
rank by living on campus.

Tot
Off-Campus On-Campus al

Underclass Row 1, column 1 Row 1, column 2 row

man 1
tota
o11=79o11=79 o12=148o12=148 l=
227
e11=227∗231388=135.147e11=227∗23 e12=227∗157388=91.853e12=227∗1
1388=135.147 57388=91.853

r11=79−135.147=−56.147r11=79−135. r12=148−91.853=56.147r12=148−91.
147=−56.147 853=56.147

Upperclass Row 2, column 1 Row 2, column 2 row

men 2
tota
o21=152o21=152 o22=9o22=9 l=
161
e21=161∗231388=95.853e21=161∗231 e22=161∗157388=65.147e22=161∗15
388=95.853 7388=65.147

r21=152−95.853=56.147r21=152−95.8 r22=9−65.147=−56.147r22=9−65.14
53=56.147 7=−56.147

Total col 1 total = 231 col 2 total = 157 gra

nd
tota
l =
388

These numbers can be plugged into the chi-square test statistic formula:
χ2=∑i=1R∑j=1C(oij−eij)2eij=(−56.147)2135.147+(56.147)291.853+(56.147)295.853+(−
56.147)265.147=138.926χ2=∑i=1R∑j=1C(oij−eij)2eij=(−56.147)2135.147+(56.147)291.853+(56.147)295.85
3+(−56.147)265.147=138.926

We can confirm this computation with the results in the Chi-Square Tests table:

The row of interest here is Pearson Chi-Square and its footnote.

• The value of the test statistic is 138.926.

• The footnote for this statistic pertains to the expected cell count assumption (i.e., expected cell counts are all
greater than 5): no cells had an expected count less than 5, so this assumption was met.
• Because the crosstabulation is a 2x2 table, the degrees of freedom (df) for the test statistic is
df=(R−1)∗(C−1)=(2−1)∗(2−1)=1df=(R−1)∗(C−1)=(2−1)∗(2−1)=1
.

• The corresponding p-value of the test statistic is so small that it is cut off from display. Instead of writing "p =
0.000", we instead write the mathematically correct statement p < 0.001.
DECISION AND CONCLUSIONS

Since the p-value is less than our chosen significance level α = 0.05, we can reject the null
hypothesis, and conclude that there is an association between class rank and whether or not
students live on-campus.

Based on the results, we can state the following:

• There was a significant association between class rank and living on campus (Χ2(1) = 138.9, p < .001).
Pearson Correlation

The bivariate Pearson Correlation produces a sample correlation coefficient, r, which measures the
strength and direction of linear relationships between pairs of continuous variables. By extension,
the Pearson Correlation evaluates whether there is statistical evidence for a linear relationship
among the same pairs of variables in the population, represented by a population correlation
coefficient, ρ (“rho”). The Pearson Correlation is a parametric measure.

This measure is also known as:

• Pearson’s correlation
• Pearson product-moment correlation (PPMC)
Common Uses

The bivariate Pearson Correlation is commonly used to measure the following:

• Correlations among pairs of variables

• Correlations within and between sets of variables

The bivariate Pearson correlation indicates the following:

• Whether a statistically significant linear relationship exists between two continuous variables
• The strength of a linear relationship (i.e., how close the relationship is to being a perfectly straight line)
• The direction of a linear relationship (increasing or decreasing)

Note: The bivariate Pearson Correlation cannot address non-linear relationships or relationships
among categorical variables. If you wish to understand relationships that involve categorical
variables and/or non-linear relationships, you will need to choose another measure of association.

Note: The bivariate Pearson Correlation only reveals associations among continuous variables.
The bivariate Pearson Correlation does not provide any inferences about causation, no matter how
large the correlation coefficient is.

Data Requirements

To use Pearson correlation, your data must meet the following requirements:

1. Two or more continuous variables (i.e., interval or ratio level)

2. Cases must have non-missing values on both variables
3. Linear relationship between the variables
4. Independent cases (i.e., independence of observations)
• There is no relationship between the values of variables between cases. This means that:
• the values for all variables across cases are unrelated
• for any case, the value for any variable cannot influence the value of any variable for other
cases
• no case can influence another case on any variable
• The biviariate Pearson correlation coefficient and corresponding significance test are not robust when
independence is violated.
5. Bivariate normality
 •Each pair of variables is bivariately normally distributed
•Each pair of variables is bivariately normally distributed at all levels of the other variable(s)
•This assumption ensures that the variables are linearly related; violations of this assumption may
indicate that non-linear relationships among variables exist. Linearity can be assessed visually using a
scatterplot of the data.
6. Random sample of data from the population
7. No outliers
Hypotheses

The null hypothesis (H0) and alternative hypothesis (H1) of the significance test for correlation can
be expressed in the following ways, depending on whether a one-tailed or two-tailed test is
requested:

Two-tailed significance test:

H0: ρ = 0 ("the population correlation coefficient is 0; there is no association")

H1: ρ ≠ 0 ("the population correlation coefficient is not 0; a nonzero correlation could exist")

One-tailed significance test:

H0: ρ = 0 ("the population correlation coefficient is 0; there is no association")

H1: ρ > 0 ("the population correlation coefficient is greater than 0; a positive correlation could
exist")
OR
H1: ρ < 0 ("the population correlation coefficient is less than 0; a negative correlation could
exist")

where ρ is the population correlation coefficient.

Test Statistic

The sample correlation coefficient between two variables x and y is denoted r or rxy, and can be
computed as:

rxy=cov(x,y)var(x)−−−−−√˙var(y)−−−−−√rxy=cov(x,y)var(x)˙var(y)

where cov(x, y) is the sample covariance of x and y; var(x) is the sample variance of x; and var(y) is
the sample variance of y.

Correlation can take on any value in the range [-1, 1]. The sign of the correlation coefficient
indicates the direction of the relationship, while the magnitude of the correlation (how close it is to
-1 or +1) indicates the strength of the relationship.

• -1 : perfectly negative linear relationship

• 0 : no relationship
 • +1 : perfectly positive linear relationship

The strength can be assessed by these general guidelines [1] (which may vary by discipline):

• .1 < | r | < .3 … small / weak correlation

• .3 < | r | < .5 … medium / moderate correlation
• .5 < | r | ……… large / strong correlation

Note: The direction and strength of a correlation are two distinct properties. The scatterplots
below [2] show correlations that are r = +0.90, r = 0.00, and r = -0.90, respectively. The strength
of the nonzero correlations are the same: 0.90. But the direction of the correlations is different: a
negative correlation corresponds to a decreasing relationship, while and a positive correlation
corresponds to an increasing relationship.

r = -0.90

r = 0.00

r = 0.90
Note that the r = 0.00 correlation has no discernable increasing or decreasing linear pattern in this
particular graph. However, keep in mind that Pearson correlation is only capable of
detecting linear associations, so it is possible to have a pair of variables with a strong nonlinear
relationship and a small Pearson correlation coefficient. It is good practice to create scatterplots of
your variables to corroborate your correlation coefficients.

[1] Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

[2] Scatterplots created in R using ggplot2, ggthemes::theme_tufte(), and MASS::mvrnorm().

Data Set-Up

Your dataset should include two or more continuous numeric variables, each defined as scale,
which will be used in the analysis.

Each row in the dataset should represent one unique subject, person, or unit. All of the
measurements taken on that person or unit should appear in that row. If measurements for one
subject appear on multiple rows -- for example, if you have measurements from different time
points on separate rows -- you should reshape your data to "wide" format before you compute the
correlations.

Run a Bivariate Pearson Correlation

To run a bivariate Pearson Correlation in SPSS, click Analyze > Correlate > Bivariate.
The Bivariate Correlations window opens, where you will specify the variables to be used in the
analysis. All of the variables in your dataset appear in the list on the left side. To select variables for
the analysis, select the variables in the list on the left and click the blue arrow button to move them
to the right, in the Variables field.

A Variables: The variables to be used in the bivariate Pearson Correlation. You must select at

least two continuous variables, but may select more than two. The test will produce correlation
coefficients for each pair of variables in this list.

B Correlation Coefficients: There are multiple types of correlation coefficients. By

default, Pearson is selected. Selecting Pearson will produce the test statistics for a bivariate
Pearson Correlation.

C Test of Significance: Click Two-tailed or One-tailed, depending on your desired

significance test. SPSS uses a two-tailed test by default.

D Flag significant correlations: Checking this option will include asterisks (**) next to

statistically significant correlations in the output. By default, SPSS marks statistical significance at
the alpha = 0.05 and alpha = 0.01 levels, but not at the alpha = 0.001 level (which is treated as
alpha = 0.01)

E Options: Clicking Options will open a window where you can specify which Statistics to

include (i.e., Means and standard deviations, Cross-product deviations and

covariances) and how to address Missing Values (i.e., Exclude cases pairwise or Exclude
cases listwise). Note that the pairwise/listwise setting does not affect your computations if you
are only entering two variable, but can make a very large difference if you are entering three or
more variables into the correlation procedure.

Example: Understanding the linear association between

weight and height
PROBLEM STATEMENT

Perhaps you would like to test whether there is a statistically significant linear relationship
between two continuous variables, weight and height (and by extension, infer whether the
association is significant in the population). You can use a bivariate Pearson Correlation to test
whether there is a statistically significant linear relationship between height and weight, and to
determine the strength and direction of the association.

BEFORE THE TEST

In the sample data, we will use two variables: “Height” and “Weight.” The variable “Height” is a
continuous measure of height in inches and exhibits a range of values from 55.00 to 84.41
(Analyze > Descriptive Statistics > Descriptives). The variable “Weight” is a continuous
measure of weight in pounds and exhibits a range of values from 101.71 to 350.07.

Before we look at the Pearson correlations, we should look at the scatterplots of our variables to get
an idea of what to expect. In particular, we need to determine if it's reasonable to assume that our
variables have linear relationships. Click Graphs > Legacy Dialogs > Scatter/Dot. In the
Scatter/Dot window, click Simple Scatter, then click Define. Move variable Height to the X Axis
box, and move variable Weight to the Y Axis box. When finished, click OK.

To add a linear fit like the one depicted, double-click on the plot in the Output Viewer to open the
Chart Editor. Click Elements > Fit Line at Total. In the Properties window, make sure the Fit
Method is set to Linear, then click Apply. (Notice that adding the linear regression trend line will
also add the R-squared value in the margin of the plot. If we take the square root of this number, it
should match the value of the Pearson correlation we obtain.)

From the scatterplot, we can see that as height increases, weight also tends to increase. There does
appear to be some linear relationship.

RUNNING THE TEST

To run the bivariate Pearson Correlation, click Analyze > Correlate > Bivariate. Select the
variables Height and Weight and move them to the Variables box. In the Correlation
Coefficients area, select Pearson. In the Test of Significance area, select your desired
significance test, two-tailed or one-tailed. We will select a two-tailed significance test in this
example. Check the box next to Flag significant correlations.

Click OK to run the bivariate Pearson Correlation. Output for the analysis will display in the
Output Viewer.

Syntax

CORRELATIONS
 /VARIABLES=Weight Height
/PRINT=TWOTAIL NOSIG
/MISSING=PAIRWISE.

OUTPUT
Tables

The results will display the correlations in a table, labeled Correlations.

A Correlation of Height with itself (r=1), and the number of nonmissing observations for height

(n=408).

B Correlation of height and weight (r=0.513), based on n=354 observations with pairwise

nonmissing values.

C Correlation of height and weight (r=0.513), based on n=354 observations with pairwise

nonmissing values.

D Correlation of weight with itself (r=1), and the number of nonmissing observations for weight

(n=376).

The important cells we want to look at are either B or C. (Cells B and C are identical, because they
include information about the same pair of variables.) Cells B and C contain the correlation
coefficient for the correlation between height and weight, its p-value, and the number of complete
pairwise observations that the calculation was based on.

The correlations in the main diagonal (cells A and D) are all equal to 1. This is because a variable is
always perfectly correlated with itself. Notice, however, that the sample sizes are different in cell A
(n=408) versus cell D (n=376). This is because of missing data -- there are more missing
observations for variable Weight than there are for variable Height.

If you have opted to flag significant correlations, SPSS will mark a 0.05 significance level with one
asterisk (*) and a 0.01 significance level with two asterisks (0.01). In cell B (repeated in cell C), we
can see that the Pearson correlation coefficient for height and weight is .513, which is significant
(p < .001 for a two-tailed test), based on 354 complete observations (i.e., cases with nonmissing
values for both height and weight).

DECISION AND CONCLUSIONS

Based on the results, we can state the following:

• Weight and height have a statistically significant linear relationship (r=.513, p < .001).
• The direction of the relationship is positive (i.e., height and weight are positively correlated), meaning that
these variables tend to increase together (i.e., greater height is associated with greater weight).
• The magnitude, or strength, of the association is approximately moderate (.3 < | r | < .5).
One Sample t Test

The One Sample t Test examines whether the mean of a population is statistically different from a
known or hypothesized value. The One Sample t Test is a parametric test.

This test is also known as:

• Single Sample t Test

The variable used in this test is known as:

• Test variable

In a One Sample t Test, the test variable's mean is compared against a "test value", which is a
known or hypothesized value of the mean in the population. Test values may come from a
literature review, a trusted research organization, legal requirements, or industry standards. For
example:

• A particular factory's machines are supposed to fill bottles with 150 milliliters of product. A plant manager
wants to test a random sample of bottles to ensure that the machines are not under- or over-filling the bottles.
• The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets clearance levels for the amount of lead present
in homes: no more than 10 micrograms per square foot on floors and no more than 100 micrograms per
square foot on window sills (as of December 2020). An inspector wants to test if samples taken from units
in an apartment building exceed the clearance level.
Common Uses

The One Sample t Test is commonly used to test the following:

• Statistical difference between a mean and a known or hypothesized value of the mean in the population.
• Statistical difference between a change score and zero.
• This approach involves creating a change score from two variables, and then comparing the mean
change score to zero, which will indicate whether any change occurred between the two time points for
the original measures. If the mean change score is not significantly different from zero, no significant
change occurred.

Note: The One Sample t Test can only compare a single sample mean to a specified constant. It
can not compare sample means between two or more groups. If you wish to compare the means of
multiple groups to each other, you will likely want to run an Independent Samples t Test (to
compare the means of two groups) or a One-Way ANOVA (to compare the means of two or more
groups).

Data Requirements

Your data must meet the following requirements:

1. Test variable that is continuous (i.e., interval or ratio level)

2. Scores on the test variable are independent (i.e., independence of observations)
• There is no relationship between scores on the test variable
 • Violation of this assumption will yield an inaccurate p value
3. Random sample of data from the population
4. Normal distribution (approximately) of the sample and population on the test variable
• Non-normal population distributions, especially those that are thick-tailed or heavily skewed,
considerably reduce the power of the test
• Among moderate or large samples, a violation of normality may still yield accurate p values
5. Homogeneity of variances (i.e., variances approximately equal in both the sample and population)
6. No outliers
Hypotheses

The null hypothesis (H0) and (two-tailed) alternative hypothesis (H1) of the one sample T test can
be expressed as:

H0: µ = µ 0 ("the population mean is equal to the [proposed] population mean")

H1: µ ≠ µ 0 ("the population mean is not equal to the [proposed] population mean")

where µ is the "true" population mean and µ 0 is the proposed value of the population mean.

Test Statistic

The test statistic for a One Sample t Test is denoted t, which is calculated using the following
formula:

t=x¯¯¯−μ0sx¯¯¯t=x¯−μ0sx¯

where

sx¯¯¯=sn−−√sx¯=sn

where

μ0μ0 = The test value -- the proposed constant for the population mean
x¯x¯ = Sample mean
nn = Sample size (i.e., number of observations)
ss = Sample standard deviation
sx¯sx¯ = Estimated standard error of the mean (s/sqrt(n))

The calculated t value is then compared to the critical t value from the t distribution table with
degrees of freedom df = n - 1 and chosen confidence level. If the calculated t value > critical t value,
then we reject the null hypothesis.
Data Set-Up

Your data should include one continuous, numeric variable (represented in a column) that will be
used in the analysis. The variable's measurement level should be defined as Scale in the Variable
View window.

Run a One Sample t Test

To run a One Sample t Test in SPSS, click Analyze > Compare Means > One-Sample T Test.

The One-Sample T Test window opens where you will specify the variables to be used in the
analysis. All of the variables in your dataset appear in the list on the left side. Move variables to
the Test Variable(s) area by selecting them in the list and clicking the arrow button.

A Test Variable(s): The variable whose mean will be compared to the hypothesized population

mean (i.e., Test Value). You may run multiple One Sample t Tests simultaneously by selecting
more than one test variable. Each variable will be compared to the same Test Value.

B Test Value: The hypothesized population mean against which your test variable(s) will be

compared.

C Estimate effect sizes: Optional. If checked, will print effect size statistics -- namely,

Cohen's d -- for the test(s). (Note: Effect sizes calculations for t tests were first added to SPSS
Statistics in version 27, making them a relatively recent addition. If you do not see this option
when you use SPSS, check what version of SPSS you're using.)

D Options: Clicking Options will open a window where you can specify the Confidence

Interval Percentage and how the analysis will address Missing Values (i.e., Exclude cases
analysis by analysis or Exclude cases listwise). Click Continue when you are finished
making specifications.

Click OK to run the One Sample t Test.

Example
PROBLEM STATEMENT

According to the CDC, the mean height of U.S. adults ages 20 and older is about 66.5 inches
(69.3 inches for males, 63.8 inches for females).

In our sample data, we have a sample of 435 college students from a single college. Let's test if the
mean height of students at this college is significantly different than 66.5 inches using a one-
sample t test. The null and alternative hypotheses of this test will be:

H0: µ Height = 66.5 ("the mean height is equal to 66.5")

H1: µ Height ≠ 66.5 ("the mean height is not equal to 66.5")

BEFORE THE TEST

In the sample data, we will use the variable Height, which a continuous variable representing each
respondent’s height in inches. The heights exhibit a range of values from 55.00 to 88.41
(Analyze > Descriptive Statistics > Descriptives).

Let's create a histogram of the data to get an idea of the distribution, and to see if our
hypothesized mean is near our sample mean. Click Graphs > Legacy Dialogs > Histogram.
Move variable Height to the Variable box, then click OK.
To add vertical reference lines at the mean (or another location), double-click on the plot to open
the Chart Editor, then click Options > X Axis Reference Line. In the Properties window, you
can enter a specific location on the x-axis for the vertical line, or you can choose to have the
reference line at the mean or median of the sample data (using the sample data). Click Apply to
make sure your new line is added to the chart. Here, we have added two reference lines: one at the
sample mean (the solid black line), and the other at 66.5 (the dashed red line).

From the histogram, we can see that height is relatively symmetrically distributed about the mean,
though there is a slightly longer right tail. The reference lines indicate that sample mean is slightly
greater than the hypothesized mean, but not by a huge amount. It's possible that our test result
could come back significant.

RUNNING THE TEST

To run the One Sample t Test, click Analyze > Compare Means > One-Sample T Test. Move
the variable Height to the Test Variable(s) area. In the Test Value field, enter 66.5.
Click OK to run the One Sample t Test.

Syntax

If you are using SPSS Statistics 27 or later:

T-TEST
/TESTVAL=66.5
/MISSING=ANALYSIS
/VARIABLES=Height
/ES DISPLAY(TRUE)
/CRITERIA=CI(.95).

If you are using SPSS Statistics 26 or earlier:

T-TEST
/TESTVAL=66.5
/MISSING=ANALYSIS
/VARIABLES=Height
/CRITERIA=CI(.95).

OUTPUT
Tables

Two sections (boxes) appear in the output: One-Sample Statistics and One-Sample Test. The
first section, One-Sample Statistics, provides basic information about the selected
variable, Height, including the valid (nonmissing) sample size (n), mean, standard deviation, and
standard error. In this example, the mean height of the sample is 68.03 inches, which is based on
408 nonmissing observations.

The second section, One-Sample Test, displays the results most relevant to the One
Sample t Test.
A Test Value: The number we entered as the test value in the One-Sample T Test window.

B t Statistic: The test statistic of the one-sample t test, denoted t. In this example, t = 5.810.

Note that t is calculated by dividing the mean difference (E) by the standard error mean (from the
One-Sample Statistics box).

C df: The degrees of freedom for the test. For a one-sample t test, df = n - 1; so here, df = 408 - 1

= 407.

D Significance (One-Sided p and Two-Sided p): The p-values corresponding to one of the

possible one-sided alternative hypotheses (in this case, µ Height > 66.5) and two-sided alternative
hypothesis (µ Height ≠ 66.5), respectively. In our problem statement above, we were only interested in
the two-sided alternative hypothesis.

E Mean Difference: The difference between the "observed" sample mean (from the One

Sample Statistics box) and the "expected" mean (the specified test value (A)). The sign of the mean
difference corresponds to the sign of the t value (B). The positive t value in this example indicates
that the mean height of the sample is greater than the hypothesized value (66.5).

F Confidence Interval for the Difference: The confidence interval for the difference

between the specified test value and the sample mean.

DECISION AND CONCLUSIONS

Recall that our hypothesized population value was 66.5 inches, the [approximate] average height
of the overall adult population in the U.S. Since p < 0.001, we reject the null hypothesis that the
mean height of students at this college is equal to the hypothesized population mean of 66.5 inches
and conclude that the mean height is significantly different than 66.5 inches.

Based on the results, we can state the following:

• There is a significant difference in the mean height of the students at this college and the overall adult
population in the U.S. (p < .001).
• The average height of students at this college is about 1.5 inches taller than the U.S. adult population average
(95% CI [1.013, 2.050]).
Paired Samples t Test

The Paired Samples t Test compares the means of two measurements taken from the same
individual, object, or related units. These "paired" measurements can represent things like:

• A measurement taken at two different times (e.g., pre-test and post-test score with an intervention
administered between the two time points)
• A measurement taken under two different conditions (e.g., completing a test under a "control" condition and
an "experimental" condition)
• Measurements taken from two halves or sides of a subject or experimental unit (e.g., measuring hearing loss in
a subject's left and right ears).

The purpose of the test is to determine whether there is statistical evidence that the mean
difference between paired observations is significantly different from zero. The Paired
Samples t Test is a parametric test.

This test is also known as:

• Dependent t Test
• Paired t Test
• Repeated Measures t Test

The variable used in this test is known as:

• Dependent variable, or test variable (continuous), measured at two different times or for two related
conditions or units
Common Uses

The Paired Samples t Test is commonly used to test the following:

• Statistical difference between two time points

• Statistical difference between two conditions
• Statistical difference between two measurements
• Statistical difference between a matched pair

Note: The Paired Samples t Test can only compare the means for two (and only two) related
(paired) units on a continuous outcome that is normally distributed. The Paired Samples t Test is
not appropriate for analyses involving the following: 1) unpaired data; 2) comparisons between
more than two units/groups; 3) a continuous outcome that is not normally distributed; and 4) an
ordinal/ranked outcome.

• To compare unpaired means between two independent groups on a continuous outcome that is normally
distributed, choose the Independent Samples t Test.
• To compare unpaired means between more than two groups on a continuous outcome that is normally
distributed, choose ANOVA.
• To compare paired means for continuous data that are not normally distributed, choose the nonparametric
Wilcoxon Signed-Ranks Test.
• To compare paired means for ranked data, choose the nonparametric Wilcoxon Signed-Ranks Test.
Data Requirements

Your data must meet the following requirements:

1. Dependent variable that is continuous (i.e., interval or ratio level)

1. Note: The paired measurements must be recorded in two separate variables.
2. Related samples/groups (i.e., dependent observations)
1. The subjects in each sample, or group, are the same. This means that the subjects in the first group are
also in the second group.
3. Random sample of data from the population
4. Normal distribution (approximately) of the difference between the paired values
5. No outliers in the difference between the two related groups

Note: When testing assumptions related to normality and outliers, you must use a variable that
represents the difference between the paired values - not the original variables themselves.

Note: When one or more of the assumptions for the Paired Samples t Test are not met, you may
want to run the nonparametric Wilcoxon Signed-Ranks Test instead.

Hypotheses

The hypotheses can be expressed in two different ways that express the same idea and are
mathematically equivalent:

H0: µ 1 = µ 2 ("the paired population means are equal")

H1: µ 1 ≠ µ2 ("the paired population means are not equal")

OR

H0: µ 1 - µ 2 = 0 ("the difference between the paired population means is equal to 0")
H1: µ 1 - µ 2 ≠ 0 ("the difference between the paired population means is not 0")

where

• µ1 is the population mean of variable 1, and

• µ2 is the population mean of variable 2.
Test Statistic

The test statistic for the Paired Samples t Test, denoted t, follows the same formula as the one
sample t test.

t=x¯¯¯diff−0sx¯¯¯t=x¯diff−0sx¯

where

sx¯¯¯=sdiffn−−√sx¯=sdiffn
where

x¯diffx¯ diff = Sample mean of the differences

nn = Sample size (i.e., number of observations)
sdiffsdiff= Sample standard deviation of the differences
sx¯sx¯ = Estimated standard error of the mean (s/sqrt(n))

The calculated t value is then compared to the critical t value with df = n - 1 from the t distribution
table for a chosen confidence level. If the calculated t value is greater than the critical t value, then
we reject the null hypothesis (and conclude that the means are significantly different).

Data Set-Up

Your data should include two continuous numeric variables (represented in columns) that will be
used in the analysis. The two variables should represent the paired variables for each subject
(row). If your data are arranged differently (e.g., cases represent repeated units/subjects), simply
restructure the data to reflect this format.

Run a Paired Samples t Test

To run a Paired Samples t Test in SPSS, click Analyze > Compare Means > Paired-Samples
T Test.

The Paired-Samples T Test window opens where you will specify the variables to be used in the
analysis. All of the variables in your dataset appear in the list on the left side. Move variables to the
right by selecting them in the list and clicking the blue arrow buttons. You will specify the paired
variables in the Paired Variables area.
A Pair: The “Pair” column represents the number of Paired Samples t Tests to run. You may

choose to run multiple Paired Samples t Tests simultaneously by selecting multiple sets of matched
variables. Each new pair will appear on a new line.

B Variable1: The first variable, representing the first group of matched values. Move the

variable that represents the first group to the right where it will be listed beneath the
“Variable1” column.

C Variable2: The second variable, representing the second group of matched values. Move the

variable that represents the second group to the right where it will be listed beneath
the “Variable2” column.

D Options: Clicking Options will open a window where you can specify the Confidence

Interval Percentage and how the analysis will address Missing Values (i.e., Exclude cases
analysis by analysis or Exclude cases listwise). Click Continue when you are finished
making specifications.

• Setting the confidence interval percentage does not have any impact on the calculation of the p-value.
• If you are only running one paired samples t test, the two "missing values" settings will produce the same
results. There will only be differences if you are running 2 or more paired samples t tests. (This would look like
having two or more rows in the main Paired Samples T Test dialog window.)
Example
PROBLEM STATEMENT

The sample dataset has placement test scores (out of 100 points) for four subject areas: English,
Reading, Math, and Writing. Students in the sample completed all 4 placement tests when they
enrolled in the university. Suppose we are particularly interested in the English and Math sections,
and want to determine whether students tended to score higher on their English or Math test, on
average. We could use a paired t test to test if there was a significant difference in the average of
the two tests.

BEFORE THE TEST

Variable English has a high of 101.95 and a low of 59.83, while variable Math has a high of 93.78
and a low of 35.32 (Analyze > Descriptive Statistics > Descriptives). The mean English
score is much higher than the mean Math score (82.79 versus 65.47). Additionally, there were 409
cases with non-missing English scores, and 422 cases with non-missing Math scores, but only 398
cases with non-missing observations for both variables. (Recall that the sample dataset has 435
cases in all.)

Let's create a comparative boxplot of these variables to help visualize these numbers.
Click Analyze > Descriptive Statistics > Explore. Add English and Math to
the Dependents box; then, change the Display option to Plots. We'll also need to tell SPSS to
put these two variables on the same chart. Click the Plots button, and in the Boxplots area, change
the selection to Dependents Together. You can also uncheck Stem-and-leaf. Click Continue.
Then click OK to run the procedure.

We can see from the boxplot that the center of the English scores is much higher than the center of
the Math scores, and that there is slightly more spread in the Math scores than in the English
scores. Both variables appear to be symmetrically distributed. It's quite possible that the paired
samples t test could come back significant.

RUNNING THE TEST

1. Click Analyze > Compare Means and Proportions > Paired-Samples T Test.
If you are using an older version of SPSS Statistics (prior to version 29), the menu path is Analyze >
Compare Means > Paired-Samples T Test.
2. Select the variable English and move it to the Variable1 slot in the Paired Variables box. Then select the
variable Math and move it to the Variable2 slot in the Paired Variables box.
3. Click OK.
Syntax

T-TEST PAIRS=English WITH Math (PAIRED)

/CRITERIA=CI(.9500)
/MISSING=ANALYSIS.

OUTPUT
Tables

There are three tables: Paired Samples Statistics, Paired Samples Correlations,
and Paired Samples Test. Paired Samples Statistics gives univariate descriptive statistics
(mean, sample size, standard deviation, and standard error) for each variable entered. Notice that
the sample size here is 398; this is because the paired t-test can only use cases that have non-
missing values for both variables. Paired Samples Correlations shows the bivariate Pearson
correlation coefficient (with a two-tailed test of significance) for each pair of variables
entered. Paired Samples Test gives the hypothesis test results.

The Paired Samples Statistics output repeats what we examined before we ran the test. The Paired
Samples Correlation table adds the information that English and Math scores are significantly
positively correlated (r = .243).

Why does SPSS report the correlation between the two variables when you run a Paired t Test?
Although our primary interest when we run a Paired t Test is finding out if the means of the two
variables are significantly different, it's also important to consider how strongly the two variables
are associated with one another, especially when the variables being compared are pre-test/post-
test measures. For more information about correlation, check out the Pearson Correlation
tutorial.

Reading from left to right:

• First column: The pair of variables being tested, and the order the subtraction was carried out. (If you have
specified more than one variable pair, this table will have multiple rows.)
• Mean: The average difference between the two variables.
• Standard deviation: The standard deviation of the difference scores.
• Standard error mean: The standard error (standard deviation divided by the square root of the sample
size). Used in computing both the test statistic and the upper and lower bounds of the confidence interval.
• t: The test statistic (denoted t) for the paired T test.
• df: The degrees of freedom for this test.
• Sig. (2-tailed): The p-value corresponding to the given test statistic t with degrees of freedom df.
DECISION AND CONCLUSIONS

From the results, we can say that:

• English and Math scores were weakly and positively correlated (r = 0.243, p < 0.001).
• There was a significant average difference between English and Math scores (t397 = 36.313, p < 0.001).
• On average, English scores were 17.3 points higher than Math scores (95% CI [16.36, 18.23]).
Independent Samples t Test

The Independent Samples t Test compares the means of two independent groups in order to
determine whether there is statistical evidence that the associated population means are
significantly different. The Independent Samples t Test is a parametric test.

This test is also known as:

• Independent t Test
• Independent Measures t Test
• Independent Two-sample t Test
• Student t Test
• Two-Sample t Test
• Uncorrelated Scores t Test
• Unpaired t Test
• Unrelated t Test

The variables used in this test are known as:

• Dependent variable, or test variable

• Independent variable, or grouping variable
Common Uses

The Independent Samples t Test is commonly used to test the following:

• Statistical differences between the means of two groups

• Statistical differences between the means of two interventions
• Statistical differences between the means of two change scores

Note: The Independent Samples t Test can only compare the means for two (and only two)
groups. It cannot make comparisons among more than two groups. If you wish to compare the
means across more than two groups, you will likely want to run an ANOVA.

Data Requirements

Your data must meet the following requirements:

1. Dependent variable that is continuous (i.e., interval or ratio level)

2. Independent variable that is categorical (i.e., nominal or ordinal) and has exactly two categories
3. Cases that have nonmissing values for both the dependent and independent variables
4. Independent samples/groups (i.e., independence of observations)
• There is no relationship between the subjects in each sample. This means that:
• Subjects in the first group cannot also be in the second group
• No subject in either group can influence subjects in the other group
• No group can influence the other group
• Violation of this assumption will yield an inaccurate p value
5. Random sample of data from the population
6. Normal distribution (approximately) of the dependent variable for each group
• Non-normal population distributions, especially those that are thick-tailed or heavily skewed,
considerably reduce the power of the test
• Among moderate or large samples, a violation of normality may still yield accurate p values
7. Homogeneity of variances (i.e., variances approximately equal across groups)
 •
When this assumption is violated and the sample sizes for each group differ, the p value is not
trustworthy. However, the Independent Samples t Test output also includes an approximate t statistic
that is not based on assuming equal population variances. This alternative statistic, called the
Welch t Test statistic1, may be used when equal variances among populations cannot be assumed. The
Welch t Test is also known an Unequal Variance t Test or Separate Variances t Test.
8. No outliers

Note: When one or more of the assumptions for the Independent Samples t Test are not met, you
may want to run the nonparametric Mann-Whitney U Test instead.

Researchers often follow several rules of thumb:

• Each group should have at least 6 subjects, ideally more. Inferences for the population will be more tenuous
with too few subjects.
• A balanced design (i.e., same number of subjects in each group) is ideal. Extremely unbalanced designs
increase the possibility that violating any of the requirements/assumptions will threaten the validity of the
Independent Samples t Test.

1
Welch, B. L. (1947). The generalization of "Student's" problem when several different population variances are involved. Biometrika, 34(1–2), 28–35.

Hypotheses

The null hypothesis (H0) and alternative hypothesis (H1) of the Independent Samples t Test can be
expressed in two different but equivalent ways:

H0: µ 1 = µ 2 ("the two population means are equal")

H1: µ 1 ≠ µ2 ("the two population means are not equal")

OR

H0: µ 1 - µ 2 = 0 ("the difference between the two population means is equal to 0")
H1: µ 1 - µ 2 ≠ 0 ("the difference between the two population means is not 0")

where µ 1 and µ 2 are the population means for group 1 and group 2, respectively. Notice that the
second set of hypotheses can be derived from the first set by simply subtracting µ 2 from both sides
of the equation.

Levene’s Test for Equality of Variances

Recall that the Independent Samples t Test requires the assumption of homogeneity of variance --
i.e., both groups have the same variance. SPSS conveniently includes a test for the homogeneity of
variance, called Levene's Test, whenever you run an independent samples t test.

The hypotheses for Levene’s test are:

H0: σ12 - σ22 = 0 ("the population variances of group 1 and 2 are equal")
H1: σ12 - σ22 ≠ 0 ("the population variances of group 1 and 2 are not equal")

This implies that if we reject the null hypothesis of Levene's Test, it suggests that the variances of
the two groups are not equal; i.e., that the homogeneity of variances assumption is violated.

The output in the Independent Samples Test table includes two rows: Equal variances
assumed and Equal variances not assumed. If Levene’s test indicates that the variances are
equal across the two groups (i.e., p-value large), you will rely on the first row of output, Equal
variances assumed, when you look at the results for the actual Independent Samples t Test
(under the heading t-test for Equality of Means). If Levene’s test indicates that the variances are
not equal across the two groups (i.e., p-value small), you will need to rely on the second row of
output, Equal variances not assumed, when you look at the results of the Independent
Samples t Test (under the heading t-test for Equality of Means).

The difference between these two rows of output lies in the way the independent samples t test
statistic is calculated. When equal variances are assumed, the calculation uses pooled variances;
when equal variances cannot be assumed, the calculation utilizes un-pooled variances and a
correction to the degrees of freedom.

Test Statistic

The test statistic for an Independent Samples t Test is denoted t. There are actually two forms of
the test statistic for this test, depending on whether or not equal variances are assumed. SPSS
produces both forms of the test, so both forms of the test are described here. Note that the null
and alternative hypotheses are identical for both forms of the test statistic.

EQUAL VARIANCES ASSUMED

When the two independent samples are assumed to be drawn from populations with identical
population variances (i.e., σ12 = σ22) , the test statistic t is computed as:

t=x¯¯¯1−x¯¯¯2sp1n1+1n2−−−−−−√t=x¯1−x¯2sp1n1+1n2

with

sp=(n1−1)s21+(n2−1)s22n1+n2−2−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−√sp=(n1−1)s12+(n2−1)s22n1+n2−2

Where
x¯1x¯ 1 = Mean of first sample
x¯2x¯ 2 = Mean of second sample
n1n1 = Sample size (i.e., number of observations) of first sample
n2n2 = Sample size (i.e., number of observations) of second sample
s1s1 = Standard deviation of first sample
s2s2 = Standard deviation of second sample
spsp = Pooled standard deviation

The calculated t value is then compared to the critical t value from the t distribution table with
degrees of freedom df = n1 + n2 - 2 and chosen confidence level. If the calculated t value is greater
than the critical t value, then we reject the null hypothesis.

Note that this form of the independent samples t test statistic assumes equal variances.

Because we assume equal population variances, it is OK to "pool" the sample variances (sp).
However, if this assumption is violated, the pooled variance estimate may not be accurate, which
would affect the accuracy of our test statistic (and hence, the p-value).

EQUAL VARIANCES NOT ASSUMED

When the two independent samples are assumed to be drawn from populations with unequal
variances (i.e., σ12 ≠ σ22), the test statistic t is computed as:

t=x¯¯¯1−x¯¯¯2s21n1+s22n2−−−−−−√t=x¯1−x¯2s12n1+s22n2

where

x¯1x¯ 1 = Mean of first sample

x¯2x¯ 2 = Mean of second sample
n1n1 = Sample size (i.e., number of observations) of first sample
n2n2 = Sample size (i.e., number of observations) of second sample
s1s1 = Standard deviation of first sample
s2s2 = Standard deviation of second sample

The calculated t value is then compared to the critical t value from the t distribution table with
degrees of freedom

df=(s21n1+s22n2)21n1−1(s21n1)2+1n2−1(s22n2)2df=(s12n1+s22n2)21n1−1(s12n1)2+1n2−1(s22n2)2

and chosen confidence level. If the calculated t value > critical t value, then we reject the null
hypothesis.
Note that this form of the independent samples t test statistic does not assume equal variances.
This is why both the denominator of the test statistic and the degrees of freedom of the critical
value of t are different than the equal variances form of the test statistic.

Data Set-Up

Your data should include two variables (represented in columns) that will be used in the analysis.
The independent variable should be categorical and include exactly two groups. (Note that SPSS
restricts categorical indicators to numeric or short string values only.) The dependent variable
should be continuous (i.e., interval or ratio). SPSS can only make use of cases that have
nonmissing values for the independent and the dependent variables, so if a case has a missing
value for either variable, it cannot be included in the test.

The number of rows in the dataset should correspond to the number of subjects in the study. Each
row of the dataset should represent a unique subject, person, or unit, and all of the measurements
taken on that person or unit should appear in that row.

Run an Independent Samples t Test

To run an Independent Samples t Test in SPSS, click Analyze > Compare Means >
Independent-Samples T Test.

The Independent-Samples T Test window opens where you will specify the variables to be used in
the analysis. All of the variables in your dataset appear in the list on the left side. Move variables to
the right by selecting them in the list and clicking the blue arrow buttons. You can move a
variable(s) to either of two areas: Grouping Variable or Test Variable(s).
A Test Variable(s): The dependent variable(s). This is the continuous variable whose means

will be compared between the two groups. You may run multiple t tests simultaneously by
selecting more than one test variable.

B Grouping Variable: The independent variable. The categories (or groups) of the

independent variable will define which samples will be compared in the t test. The grouping
variable must have at least two categories (groups); it may have more than two categories but
a t test can only compare two groups, so you will need to specify which two groups to compare. You
can also use a continuous variable by specifying a cut point to create two groups (i.e., values at or
above the cut point and values below the cut point).

C Define Groups: Click Define Groups to define the category indicators (groups) to use in

the t test. If the button is not active, make sure that you have already moved your independent
variable to the right in the Grouping Variable field. You must define the categories of your
grouping variable before you can run the Independent Samples t Test procedure.

You will not be able to run the Independent Samples t Test until the levels (or cut points) of the
grouping variable have been defined. The OK and Paste buttons will be unclickable until the levels
have been defined.

You can tell if the levels of the grouping variable have not been defined by looking at the Grouping
Variable box: if a variable appears in the box but has two question marks next to it, then the levels
are not defined:

D Options: The Options section is where you can set your desired confidence level for the

confidence interval for the mean difference, and specify how SPSS should handle missing values.

When finished, click OK to run the Independent Samples t Test, or click Paste to have the syntax
corresponding to your specified settings written to an open syntax window. (If you do not have a
syntax window open, a new window will open for you.)

DEFINE GROUPS

Clicking the Define Groups button (C) opens the Define Groups window:
1 Use specified values: If your grouping variable is categorical, select Use specified values.

Enter the values for the categories you wish to compare in the Group 1 and Group 2 fields. If
your categories are numerically coded, you will enter the numeric codes. If your group variable is
string, you will enter the exact text strings representing the two categories. If your grouping
variable has more than two categories (e.g., takes on values of 1, 2, 3, 4), you can specify two of the
categories to be compared (SPSS will disregard the other categories in this case).

Note that when computing the test statistic, SPSS will subtract the mean of the Group 2 from the
mean of Group 1. Changing the order of the subtraction affects the sign of the results, but does not
affect the magnitude of the results.

2 Cut point: If your grouping variable is numeric and continuous, you can designate a cut

point for dichotomizing the variable. This will separate the cases into two categories based on the
cut point. Specifically, for a given cut point x, the new categories will be:

• Group 1: All cases where grouping variable > x

• Group 2: All cases where grouping variable < x

Note that this implies that cases where the grouping variable is equal to the cut point itself will be
included in the "greater than or equal to" category. (If you want your cut point to be included in a
"less than or equal to" group, then you will need to use Recode into Different Variables or use DO
IF syntax to create this grouping variable yourself.) Also note that while you can use cut points on
any variable that has a numeric type, it may not make practical sense depending on the actual
measurement level of the variable (e.g., nominal categorical variables coded numerically).
Additionally, using a dichotomized variable created via a cut point generally reduces the power of
the test compared to using a non-dichotomized variable.

OPTIONS

Clicking the Options button (D) opens the Options window:

The Confidence Interval Percentage box allows you to specify the confidence level for a confidence
interval. Note that this setting does NOT affect the test statistic or p-value or standard error; it
only affects the computed upper and lower bounds of the confidence interval. You can enter any
value between 1 and 99 in this box (although in practice, it only makes sense to enter numbers
between 90 and 99).

The Missing Values section allows you to choose if cases should be excluded "analysis by analysis"
(i.e. pairwise deletion) or excluded listwise. This setting is not relevant if you have only specified
one dependent variable; it only matters if you are entering more than one dependent (continuous
numeric) variable. In that case, excluding "analysis by analysis" will use all nonmissing values for a
given variable. If you exclude "listwise", it will only use the cases with nonmissing values for all of
the variables entered. Depending on the amount of missing data you have, listwise deletion could
greatly reduce your sample size.

Example: Independent samples T test when variances are

not equal
PROBLEM STATEMENT

In our sample dataset, students reported their typical time to run a mile, and whether or not they
were an athlete. Suppose we want to know if the average time to run a mile is different for athletes
versus non-athletes. This involves testing whether the sample means for mile time among athletes
and non-athletes in your sample are statistically different (and by extension, inferring whether the
means for mile times in the population are significantly different between these two groups). You
can use an Independent Samples t Test to compare the mean mile time for athletes and non-
athletes.

The hypotheses for this example can be expressed as:

H0: µ non-athlete − µathlete = 0 ("the difference of the means is equal to zero")

H1: µ non-athlete − µ athlete ≠ 0 ("the difference of the means is not equal to zero")
where µ athlete and µ non-athlete are the population means for athletes and non-athletes, respectively.

In the sample data, we will use two variables: Athlete and MileMinDur. The variable Athlete has
values of either “0” (non-athlete) or "1" (athlete). It will function as the independent variable in
this T test. The variable MileMinDur is a numeric duration variable (h:mm:ss), and it will function
as the dependent variable. In SPSS, the first few rows of data look like this:

BEFORE THE TEST

Before running the Independent Samples t Test, it is a good idea to look at descriptive statistics
and graphs to get an idea of what to expect. Running Compare Means (Analyze > Compare
Means > Means) to get descriptive statistics by group tells us that the standard deviation in mile
time for non-athletes is about 2 minutes; for athletes, it is about 49 seconds. This corresponds to a
variance of 14803 seconds for non-athletes, and a variance of 2447 seconds for athletes1. Running
the Explore procedure (Analyze > Descriptives > Explore) to obtain a comparative boxplot
yields the following graph:

If the variances were indeed equal, we would expect the total length of the boxplots to be about the
same for both groups. However, from this boxplot, it is clear that the spread of observations for
non-athletes is much greater than the spread of observations for athletes. Already, we can estimate
that the variances for these two groups are quite different. It should not come as a surprise if we
run the Independent Samples t Test and see that Levene's Test is significant.
Additionally, we should also decide on a significance level (typically denoted using the Greek letter
alpha, α) before we perform our hypothesis tests. The significance level is the threshold we use to
decide whether a test result is significant. For this example, let's use α = 0.05.

When computing the variance of a duration variable (formatted as hh:mm:ss or mm:ss or mm:ss.s), SPSS converts the standard deviation value to seconds
1

before squaring.

RUNNING THE TEST

To run the Independent Samples t Test:

1. Click Analyze > Compare Means > Independent-Samples T Test.

2. Move the variable Athlete to the Grouping Variable field, and move the variable MileMinDur to the Test
Variable(s) area. Now Athlete is defined as the independent variable and MileMinDur is defined as the
dependent variable.
3. Click Define Groups, which opens a new window. Use specified values is selected by default. Since our
grouping variable is numerically coded (0 = "Non-athlete", 1 = "Athlete"), type “0” in the first text box, and “1”
in the second text box. This indicates that we will compare groups 0 and 1, which correspond to non-athletes
and athletes, respectively. Click Continue when finished.
4. Click OK to run the Independent Samples t Test. Output for the analysis will display in the Output Viewer
window.
Syntax

T-TEST GROUPS=Athlete(0 1)
/MISSING=ANALYSIS
/VARIABLES=MileMinDur
/CRITERIA=CI(.95).

OUTPUT
Tables

Two sections (boxes) appear in the output: Group Statistics and Independent Samples Test.
The first section, Group Statistics, provides basic information about the group comparisons,
including the sample size (n), mean, standard deviation, and standard error for mile times by
group. In this example, there are 166 athletes and 226 non-athletes. The mean mile time for
athletes is 6 minutes 51 seconds, and the mean mile time for non-athletes is 9 minutes 6 seconds.
The second section, Independent Samples Test, displays the results most relevant to the
Independent Samples t Test. There are two parts that provide different pieces of information: (A)
Levene’s Test for Equality of Variances and (B) t-test for Equality of Means.

A Levene's Test for Equality of of Variances: This section has the test results for Levene's

Test. From left to right:

• F is the test statistic of Levene's test

• Sig. is the p-value corresponding to this test statistic.

The p-value of Levene's test is printed as ".000" (but should be read as p < 0.001 -- i.e., p very
small), so we we reject the null of Levene's test and conclude that the variance in mile time of
athletes is significantly different than that of non-athletes. This tells us that we should look at
the "Equal variances not assumed" row for the t test (and corresponding confidence
interval) results. (If this test result had not been significant -- that is, if we had observed p > α --
then we would have used the "Equal variances assumed" output.)

B t-test for Equality of Means provides the results for the actual Independent Samples t Test.

From left to right:

• t is the computed test statistic, using the formula for the equal-variances-assumed test statistic (first
row of table) or the formula for the equal-variances-not-assumed test statistic (second row of table)
• df is the degrees of freedom, using the equal-variances-assumed degrees of freedom formula (first
row of table) or the equal-variances-not-assumed degrees of freedom formula (second row of table)
• Sig (2-tailed) is the p-value corresponding to the given test statistic and degrees of freedom
• Mean Difference is the difference between the sample means, i.e. x1 − x2; it also corresponds to the numerator
of the test statistic for that test
• Std. Error Difference is the standard error of the mean difference estimate; it also corresponds to the
denominator of the test statistic for that test

Note that the mean difference is calculated by subtracting the mean of the second group from the
mean of the first group. In this example, the mean mile time for athletes was subtracted from the
mean mile time for non-athletes (9:06 minus 6:51 = 02:14). The sign of the mean difference
corresponds to the sign of the t value. The positive t value in this example indicates that the mean
mile time for the first group, non-athletes, is significantly greater than the mean for the second
group, athletes.
The associated p value is printed as ".000"; double-clicking on the p-value will reveal the un-
rounded number. SPSS rounds p-values to three decimal places, so any p-value too small to round
up to .001 will print as .000. (In this particular example, the p-values are on the order of 10-40.)

C Confidence Interval of the Difference: This part of the t-test output complements the

significance test results. Typically, if the CI for the mean difference contains 0 within the interval --
i.e., if the lower boundary of the CI is a negative number and the upper boundary of the CI is a
positive number -- the results are not significant at the chosen significance level. In this example,
the 95% CI is [01:57, 02:32], which does not contain zero; this agrees with the small p-value of the
significance test.

DECISION AND CONCLUSIONS

Since p < .001 is less than our chosen significance level α = 0.05, we can reject the null hypothesis,
and conclude that the that the mean mile time for athletes and non-athletes is significantly
different.

Based on the results, we can state the following:

• There was a significant difference in mean mile time between non-athletes and athletes (t315.846 =
15.047, p < .001).
• The average mile time for athletes was 2 minutes and 14 seconds lower than the average mile time for non-
athletes.
One-Way ANOVA

One-Way ANOVA ("analysis of variance") compares the means of two or more independent groups
in order to determine whether there is statistical evidence that the associated population means
are significantly different. One-Way ANOVA is a parametric test.

This test is also known as:

• One-Factor ANOVA
• One-Way Analysis of Variance
• Between Subjects ANOVA

The variables used in this test are known as:

• Dependent variable
• Independent variable (also known as the grouping variable, or factor)
• This variable divides cases into two or more mutually exclusive levels, or groups
Common Uses

The One-Way ANOVA is often used to analyze data from the following types of studies:

• Field studies
• Experiments
• Quasi-experiments

The One-Way ANOVA is commonly used to test the following:

• Statistical differences among the means of two or more groups

• Statistical differences among the means of two or more interventions
• Statistical differences among the means of two or more change scores

Note: Both the One-Way ANOVA and the Independent Samples t Test can compare the means for
two groups. However, only the One-Way ANOVA can compare the means across three or more
groups.

Note: If the grouping variable has only two groups, then the results of a one-way ANOVA and the
independent samples t test will be equivalent. In fact, if you run both an independent samples t
test and a one-way ANOVA in this situation, you should be able to confirm that t2=F.

Data Requirements

Your data must meet the following requirements:

1. Dependent variable that is continuous (i.e., interval or ratio level)

2. Independent variable that is categorical (i.e., two or more groups)
3. Cases that have values on both the dependent and independent variables
4. Independent samples/groups (i.e., independence of observations)
1. There is no relationship between the subjects in each sample. This means that:
1. subjects in the first group cannot also be in the second group
 2. no subject in either group can influence subjects in the other group
3. no group can influence the other group
5. Random sample of data from the population
6. Normal distribution (approximately) of the dependent variable for each group (i.e., for each level of the factor)
1. Non-normal population distributions, especially those that are thick-tailed or heavily skewed,
considerably reduce the power of the test
2. Among moderate or large samples, a violation of normality may yield fairly accurate p values
7. Homogeneity of variances (i.e., variances approximately equal across groups)
1. When this assumption is violated and the sample sizes differ among groups, the p value for the
overall F test is not trustworthy. These conditions warrant using alternative statistics that do not
assume equal variances among populations, such as the Browne-Forsythe or Welch statistics
(available via Options in the One-Way ANOVA dialog box).
2. When this assumption is violated, regardless of whether the group sample sizes are fairly equal, the
results may not be trustworthy for post hoc tests. When variances are unequal, post hoc tests that do
not assume equal variances should be used (e.g., Dunnett’s C).
8. No outliers

Note: When the normality, homogeneity of variances, or outliers assumptions for One-Way
ANOVA are not met, you may want to run the nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis test instead.

Researchers often follow several rules of thumb for one-way ANOVA:

• Each group should have at least 6 subjects (ideally more; inferences for the population will be more tenuous
with too few subjects)
• Balanced designs (i.e., same number of subjects in each group) are ideal; extremely unbalanced designs
increase the possibility that violating any of the requirements/assumptions will threaten the validity of the
ANOVA F test
Hypotheses

The null and alternative hypotheses of one-way ANOVA can be expressed as:

H0: µ 1 = µ 2 = µ 3 = ... = µ k ("all k population means are equal")

H1: At least one µ i different ("at least one of the k population means is not equal to the others")

where

• µi is the population mean of the ith group (i = 1, 2, ..., k)

Note: The One-Way ANOVA is considered an omnibus (Latin for “all”) test because the F test
indicates whether the model is significant overall—i.e., whether or not there are any significant
differences in the means between any of the groups. (Stated another way, this says that at least one
of the means is different from the others.) However, it does not indicate which mean is different.
Determining which specific pairs of means are significantly different requires either contrasts or
post hoc (Latin for “after this”) tests.

Test Statistic

The test statistic for a One-Way ANOVA is denoted as F. For an independent variable
with k groups, the F statistic evaluates whether the group means are significantly different.
Because the computation of the F statistic is slightly more involved than computing the paired or
independent samples t test statistics, it's extremely common for all of the F statistic components to
be depicted in a table like the following:

Sum of Squares dfMean Square F

Treatment SSR dfr MSRMSR/MSE

Error SSE dfe MSE

Total SSTdfT

where

SSR = the regression sum of squares

SSE = the error sum of squares

SST = the total sum of squares (SST = SSR + SSE)

dfr = the model degrees of freedom (equal to dfr = k - 1)

dfe = the error degrees of freedom (equal to dfe = n - k)

k = the total number of groups (levels of the independent variable)

n = the total number of valid observations

dfT = the total degrees of freedom (equal to dfT = dfr + dfe = n - 1)

MSR = SSR/dfr = the regression mean square

MSE = SSE/dfe = the mean square error

Then the F statistic itself is computed as

F=MSRMSEF=MSRMSE

Note: In some texts you may see the notation df1 or ν1 for the regression degrees of freedom, and
df2 or ν2 for the error degrees of freedom. The latter notation uses the Greek letter nu (ν) for the
degrees of freedom.

Some texts may use "SSTr" (Tr = "treatment") instead of SSR (R = "regression"), and may use
SSTo (To = "total") instead of SST.
The terms Treatment (or Model) and Error are the terms most commonly used in natural sciences
and in traditional experimental design texts. In the social sciences, it is more common to see the
terms Between groups instead of "Treatment", and Within groups instead of "Error". The
between/within terminology is what SPSS uses in the one-way ANOVA procedure.

Data Set-Up

Your data should include at least two variables (represented in columns) that will be used in the
analysis. The independent variable should be categorical (nominal or ordinal) and include at least
two groups, and the dependent variable should be continuous (i.e., interval or ratio). Each row of
the dataset should represent a unique subject or experimental unit.

Note: The One-Way ANOVA procedure in SPSS Statistics cannot make use of variables with the
type String (i.e., character). They will not appear in the list of variables.

If you have a categorical/factor variable that is in string/character format, you will need to
convert it to a coded numeric variable before running the test. Fortunately, the Automatic
Recode procedure makes this conversion easy.
Run a One-Way ANOVA

The following steps reflect SPSS’s dedicated One-Way ANOVA procedure. However, since the
One-Way ANOVA is also part of the General Linear Model (GLM) family of statistical tests, it can
also be conducted via the Univariate GLM procedure (“univariate” refers to one dependent
variable). This latter method may be beneficial if your analysis goes beyond the simple One-Way
ANOVA and involves multiple independent variables, fixed and random factors, and/or weighting
variables and covariates (e.g., One-Way ANCOVA). We proceed by explaining how to run a One-
Way ANOVA using SPSS’s dedicated procedure.

To run a One-Way ANOVA in SPSS, click Analyze > Compare Means > One-Way ANOVA.
The One-Way ANOVA window opens, where you will specify the variables to be used in the
analysis. All of the variables in your dataset appear in the list on the left side. Move variables to the
right by selecting them in the list and clicking the blue arrow buttons. You can move a variable(s)
to either of two areas: Dependent List or Factor.

A Dependent List: The dependent variable(s). This is the variable whose means will be

compared between the samples (groups). You may run multiple means
comparisons simultaneously by selecting more than one dependent variable.

B Factor: The independent variable. The categories (or groups) of the independent variable will

define which samples will be compared. The independent variable must have at least two
categories (groups), but usually has three or more groups when used in a One-Way ANOVA.

C Contrasts: (Optional) Specify contrasts, or planned comparisons, to be conducted after the

overall ANOVA test.

When the initial F test indicates that significant differences exist between group means, contrasts
are useful for determining which specific means are significantly different when you have specific
hypotheses that you wish to test. Contrasts are decided before analyzing the data (i.e., a priori).
Contrasts break down the variance into component parts. They may involve using weights, non-
orthogonal comparisons, standard contrasts, and polynomial contrasts (trend analysis).

Many online and print resources detail the distinctions among these options and will help users
select appropriate contrasts. For more information about contrasts, you can open the IBM SPSS
help manual from within SPSS by clicking the "Help" button at the bottom of the One-Way
ANOVA dialog window.

D Post Hoc: (Optional) Request post hoc (also known as multiple comparisons) tests. Specific

post hoc tests can be selected by checking the associated boxes.

1 Equal Variances Assumed: Multiple comparisons options that assume homogeneity of

variance (each group has equal variance). For detailed information about the specific comparison
methods, click the Help button in this window.

2 Test: By default, a 2-sided hypothesis test is selected. Alternatively, a directional, one-sided

hypothesis test can be specified if you choose to use a Dunnett post hoc test. Click the box next
to Dunnett and then specify whether the Control Category is the Last or First group,
numerically, of your grouping variable. In the Test area, click either < Control or > Control.
The one-tailed options require that you specify whether you predict that the mean for the specified
control group will be less than (> Control) or greater than (< Control) another group.

3 Equal Variances Not Assumed: Multiple comparisons options that do not assume equal

variances. For detailed information about the specific comparison methods, click the Help button
in this window.

4 Significance level: The desired cutoff for statistical significance. By default, significance is

set to 0.05.

When the initial F test indicates that significant differences exist between group means, post hoc
tests are useful for determining which specific means are significantly different when you do not
have specific hypotheses that you wish to test. Post hoc tests compare each pair of means (like t-
tests), but unlike t-tests, they correct the significance estimate to account for the multiple
comparisons.
E Options: Clicking Options will produce a window where you can specify which Statistics to

include in the output (Descriptive, Fixed and random effects, Homogeneity of variance test,
Brown-Forsythe, Welch), whether to include a Means plot, and how the analysis will
address Missing Values (i.e., Exclude cases analysis by analysis or Exclude cases
listwise). Click Continue when you are finished making specifications.

Click OK to run the One-Way ANOVA.

Example

To introduce one-way ANOVA, let's use an example with a relatively obvious conclusion. The goal
here is to show the thought process behind a one-way ANOVA.

PROBLEM STATEMENT

In the sample dataset, the variable Sprint is the respondent's time (in seconds) to sprint a given
distance, and Smoking is an indicator about whether or not the respondent smokes (0 =
Nonsmoker, 1 = Past smoker, 2 = Current smoker). Let's use ANOVA to test if there is a
statistically significant difference in sprint time with respect to smoking status. Sprint time will
serve as the dependent variable, and smoking status will act as the independent variable.
 BEFORE THE TEST

Just like we did with the paired t test and the independent samples t test, we'll want to look at
descriptive statistics and graphs to get picture of the data before we run any inferential statistics.

The sprint times are a continuous measure of time to sprint a given distance in seconds. From the
Descriptives procedure (Analyze > Descriptive Statistics > Descriptives), we see that the
times exhibit a range of 4.5 to 9.6 seconds, with a mean of 6.6 seconds (based on n=374 valid
cases). From the Compare Means procedure (Analyze > Compare Means > Means), we see
these statistics with respect to the groups of interest:

NMeanStd. Deviation

Nonsmoker 261 6.411 1.252

Past smoker 33 6.835 1.024

Current smoker 59 7.121 1.084

Total 353 6.569 1.234

Notice that, according to the Compare Means procedure, the valid sample size is actually n=353.
This is because Compare Means (and additionally, the one-way ANOVA procedure itself) requires
there to be nonmissing values for both the sprint time and the smoking indicator.

Lastly, we'll also want to look at a comparative boxplot to get an idea of the distribution of the data
with respect to the groups:

From the boxplots, we see that there are no outliers; that the distributions are roughly symmetric;
and that the center of the distributions don't appear to be hugely different. The median sprint time
for the nonsmokers is slightly faster than the median sprint time of the past and current smokers.
 RUNNING THE PROCEDURE
1. Click Analyze > Compare Means > One-Way ANOVA.
2. Add the variable Sprint to the Dependent List box, and add the variable Smoking to the Factor box.
3. Click Options. Check the box for Means plot, then click Continue.
4. Click OK when finished.

Output for the analysis will display in the Output Viewer window.

Syntax

ONEWAY Sprint BY Smoking

/PLOT MEANS
/MISSING ANALYSIS.

OUTPUT

The output displays a table entitled ANOVA.

Sum of Squares dfMean Square F Sig.

Between Groups 26.788 2 13.3949.209.000

Within Groups 509.082350 1.455

Total 535.870 352

After any table output, the Means plot is displayed.

The Means plot is a visual representation of what we saw in the Compare Means output. The
points on the chart are the average of each group. It's much easier to see from this graph that the
current smokers had the slowest mean sprint time, while the nonsmokers had the fastest mean
sprint time.
 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

We conclude that the mean sprint time is significantly different for at least one of the smoking
groups (F2, 350 = 9.209, p < 0.001). Note that the ANOVA alone does not tell us specifically which
means were different from one another. To determine that, we would need to follow up
with multiple comparisons (or post-hoc) tests.