PARAMETRIC TEST OF VARIANCE

Parametric tests for variance, like ANOVA and t-tests, assume data is normally distributed and
that variances are similar across groups (homogeneity of variance or
homoscedasticity).Violations of these assumptions can lead to inaccurate results.

Parametric Tests:These tests rely on certain assumptions about the population distribution,
most commonly that the data is normally distributed.

Variance:Variance is a measure of how spread out or dispersed the data points are from the
mean.

Homogeneity of Variance (Homoscedasticity):This assumption means that the variability or

spread of scores is similar across different groups or conditions.

Common Parametric Tests for Variance:

ANOVA (Analysis of Variance): Used to compare the means of two or more groups, but it also
assumes homogeneity of variance.

t-tests: Used to compare the means of two groups, and also assumes homogeneity of variance.

Assumptions of Parametric Tests:

Normality: The data should follow a normal distribution.

Homogeneity of Variance: The variances of the groups being compared should be

approximately equal.

Independence: The observations within each group should be independent of each other.

When to use them:

When you have quantitative data (data that can be measured numerically).

When you want to compare the means of two or more groups.

When you believe your data meets the assumptions of normality and homogeneity of variance.

Advantages:

More powerful: Parametric tests are generally more powerful than non-parametric tests,
meaning they are better at detecting real differences or effects if they exist.

More precise: They can provide more precise estimates of the differences between groups.
Disadvantages:

Assumptions: They rely on strict assumptions about the data, and if these assumptions are
violated, the results may be unreliable.

Data type: They are not appropriate for all types of data, especially data that is not normally
distributed or has unequal variances.

Alternatives:

If your data does not meet the assumptions of parametric tests,you may need to use non-
parametric tests, which do not rely on these assumptions.

Parametric tests are often used in a variety of different applications, including medical research,
market research, and social sciences. In these fields, researchers may use parametric tests to
determine the significance of changes in population means or variances, or to determine if a
particular treatment or intervention has had a significant impact on the data.

Checking Assumptions:

Levene's Test: A statistical test used to check for homogeneity of variance.

Bartlett's Test: Another test used to check for homogeneity of variance.

Box's M test: A test to check for homogeneity of variance in multivariate analysis.

Brown–Forsyth test: A test to check for homogeneity of variance.

Hartley's Fmax test: A test to check for homogeneity of variance.

Consequences of Violating Assumptions:

Higher Type I Error Rate: If the assumption of homogeneity of variance is violated, the
probability of incorrectly rejecting the null hypothesis (Type I error) can increase.

Biased Results: In cases of unequal group sizes and violation of homogeneity of variance, the
results of parametric tests can be biased.

Non-parametric alternatives:

If the assumptions of parametric tests are not met, non-parametric tests can be used,

such as the Kruskal-Wallis test or Mann-Whitney test.

Parametric vs. Nonparametric

The difference between parametric and nonparametric statistics has to do with the kind of data
available for analysis.

Parametric when estimate of one parameter is interval or ratio level.

Most common are t-test and ANOVA which measure differences between group means.
Nonparametric when level of data is nominal or ordinal and the normality of the distribution
cannot be assumed.
Most common is chi-square which measures difference between 2 nominal variables or
Spearman's r which can measure relationship.
Parametric Tests
Statistical methods which depend on the parameters of populations or probability distributions
are referred to as parametric tests. Parametric tests include:

t-test, F-ratio, ANCOVA, Correlation, Regression, Factor Analysis

These tests are only meaningful for continuous data which is sampled from a population with
an underlying normal distribution or whose distribution can be rendered normal by
mathematical transformation.

T test

The t-test is a parametric statistical test used to compare the means of two
groups, assuming the data are normally distributed and have similar variances
(homogeneity of variance).

The t-test is a statistical test used to determine if there is a significant difference

between the means of two groups.

It's considered a parametric test, meaning it relies on certain assumptions about

the data distribution, such as normality and homogeneity of variance.

There are different types of t-tests, including:

One-sample t-test: Compares the mean of a sample to a known or hypothesized

population mean.

Independent samples t-test (two-sample t-test): Compares the means of two

independent groups.
Paired samples t-test: Compares the means of two related groups (e.g., before
and after measurements on the same subjects).

Assumptions of the t-test:

Normality: The data within each group should be approximately normally

distributed.

Homogeneity of Variance: The variances (or standard deviations) of the two

groups being compared should be approximately equal.

Independence: The observations within each group should be independent of

each other.

Continuous Data: The data should be continuous or at least interval or ratio

scaled.

A t test is a statistical test that is used to compare the means of two groups. It is
often used in hypothesis testing to determine whether a process or treatment
actually has an effect on the population of interest, or whether two groups are
different from one another.You can test the difference between these two groups
using a t test and null and alterative hypotheses.The null hypothesis (H0) is that
the true difference between these group means is zero.The alternate hypothesis
(Ha) is that the true difference is different from zero.

When to use a t-test:

Comparing two group means:

Use when you want to determine if there's a statistically significant difference

between the means of two groups.

Small sample sizes:

T-tests are often used when sample sizes are small (less than 30) and the
population standard deviation is unknown.

Population variance unknown:

When the population variance is unknown and you are comparing two groups,
the t-test is used.

Performing a t test

The t test estimates the true difference between two group means using the ratio
of the difference in group means over the pooled standard error of both groups.
You can calculate it manually using a formula, or use statistical analysis software.

T test formula

The formula for the two-sample t test (a.k.a. the Student’s t-test) is shown below.

Z test

A Z-test is a parametric statistical test used to determine if there's a significant

difference between a sample mean and a population mean or between the means
of two groups, particularly when the population standard deviation is known, the
sample size is large, or the data is normally distributed. A Z-test is a parametric
statistical test used to determine if there's a significant difference between the
means of two groups or populations when the population standard deviation is
known, or when the sample size is large (n > 30).

Key Concepts:

Parametric Test: Z-tests, like t-tests, are parametric tests, meaning they make
assumptions about the population parameters (like the mean and standard
deviation).

When to Use:

Known Population Standard Deviation: If you know the true standard deviation of
the population(s) you are comparing, a z-test is appropriate.

Large Sample Size: Even if the population standard deviation is unknown, a z-test
can be used if your sample size is large (typically n > 30) because the Central Limit
Theorem allows for the assumption of a normal distribution of sample means.
Assumptions:

Normal Distribution: The data should be approximately normally distributed, or

the sample size should be large enough for the Central Limit Theorem to apply.

Independence: The observations within each sample should be independent of

each other.

Random Sampling: The samples should be randomly selected from the

populations.

Types of Z-Tests:

One-Sample Z-Test: Compares a sample mean to a known population mean.

Two-Sample Z-Test: Compares the means of two independent groups.

Z-Statistic:

The z-statistic (or z-score) is calculated to determine how many standard

deviations the sample mean is from the hypothesized population mean.

Hypothesis Testing:

Z-tests are used to test a hypothesis, typically a null hypothesis (H0) that there is
no difference between the groups or populations, against an alternative
hypothesis (H1).

Relationship to T-Tests:

Z-tests are closely related to t-tests, but t-tests are used when the population
standard deviation is unknown and the sample size is small.

Advantages of Z-tests:

Known Population Parameters: If the population standard deviation is known, z-

tests can provide more precise results than t-tests.
Large Sample Sizes: Z-tests are well-suited for analyzing large datasets.

Versatility: Z-tests can be used to test hypotheses about means, proportions, and
other parameters.