 One sample t-test

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  Sig. (2-tailed): The two-tailed p-value corresponding to the test statistic.

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
Since p < 0.001, we reject the null hypothesis that the sample mean is equal to the
hypothesized population mean and conclude that the mean height of the sample is
significantly different than the average height of the overall adult population.
Based on the results, we can state the following:
 There is a significant difference in mean height between the sample and the
overall adult population (p < .001).
 The average height of the sample is about 1.5 inches taller than the overall
adult population average.
 Independent t-test
Group Statistics

Std. Std. Error

ORIGIN Country of Origin N Mean Deviation Mean
WEIGHT Vehicle 2 European 73 2431.49 490.884 57.454
Weight (lbs.) 3 Japanese 79 2221.23 320.497 36.059

Independent Samples Test

Levene's Test for

Equality of Variances t-test for Equality of Means
95% Confidence
Interval of the
Mean Std. Error Difference
F Sig. t df Sig. (2-tailed) Difference Difference Lower Upper
WEIGHT Vehicle Equal variances
18.242 .000 3.150 150 .002 210.27 66.756 78.362 342.169
Weight (lbs.) assumed
Equal variances
3.100 122.367 .002 210.27 67.832 75.990 344.541
not assumed

How to Read this Output:

Note the mean for each of the two groups in the “Group Statistics” section. This output
shows that the average weight for European cars is 2431 pounds, versus 2221 pounds for
Japanese cars.
To see the results of the t-test for the difference in the two means, find the p-value for the
test. The p-value is labeled as “Sig.” in the SPSS output (“Sig.” stands for significance
level). To find the correct “Sig.”, look in the section of the “Independent Samples Test”
output labeled “t-test for Equality of Means” and you will find a column labeled “Sig. (2-
tailed).” This is the correct column, not the column labeled “Sig.” in the section of the
“Levene’s Test for Equality of Variances” section. Finally, read the “Sig.” value in the
second row, the row labeled “Equal variances not assumed”. We will use the second row
since we almost never have any reason to think a priori that the amount of variation
within each group will be the same (the p-value in the two rows is usually almost the
same anyway). In the above example the p-value is .002, implying that the difference in
means is statistically significant at the .1, .05. and .01 levels.
Summary: To find the p-value for the hypothesis test for the difference in means, look in
the column labeled “Sig. (2-tailed)” in the “t-test for Equality of Means” section, and in
the second row (labeled “Equal variances not assumed”).
Note that since the p-value given by SPSS is 2-tailed, you need to divide it in half for a 1-
tailed test. In the above example the 1-tailed p-value would be .001.

 Paired sample t-test

Look at the Paired Samples Statistics Box

Take a look at this box. You can see each variable name in left most column. If you
have given your variables meaningful names, you should know exactly which
conditions these variable names represent. You can find out the number of
participants, mean and standard deviation for each condition by reading across each of
the two condition rows.
Example
In the Paired Samples Statistics Box, the mean for the caffeine condition (CAFDTA)
is 5.40. The mean for the no caffeine condition (NOCAFDTA) is 9.40. The standard
deviation for the caffeine condition is 1.14 and for the no caffeine condition, also 1.14.
The number of participants in each condition (N) is 5.
Paired Samples Test Box

This is the next box you will look at. It contains info about the paired samples t-test
that you conducted. You will be most interested in the value that is in the final column
of this table. Take a look at the Sig. (2-tailed) value.
Sig (2-Tailed) value: This value will tell you if the two condition Means are
statistically different. Often times, this value will be referred to as the p value. In this
example, the Sig (2-Tailed) value is 0.005.
 If the Sig (2-Tailed) value is greater than 0.05:
You can conclude that there is no statistically significant difference between your
two conditions. You can conclude that the differences between condition Means
are likely due to chance and not likely due to the IV manipulation.
 If the Sig (2-Tailed) value is less than or equal to 0.05:
You can conclude that there is a statistically significant difference between your
two conditions. You can conclude that the differences between condition Means
are not likely due to change and are probably due to the IV manipulation.
Our Example
The Sig. (2-Tailed) value in our example is 0.005. This value is less than .05. Because
of this, we can conclude that there is a statistically significant difference between the
mean hours of sleep for the caffeine and no caffeine conditions. Since our Paired
Samples Statistics box revealed that the Mean number of hours slept for the no
caffeine condition was greater than the Mean for the caffeine condition, we can
conclude that participants in the no caffeine condition were able to sleep significantly
more hours than participants in the caffeine condition.