BIOEPI Lec- Chapter 10

Statistical Analysis
 Observed differences in research may be due
to random chance or due to meaningful
associations
 Statistical tests analyze relationships of
variables in analytic research
Appropriate statistical test should match the
research objectives and the research design as
well as other factors:
 Type of data (type of variable)
 Number of variables
 Metric used (e.g., means, rates, etc.)
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A prespecified analysis plan is necessary in the
research proposal.
Identifying the statistical test used is part of
methodology
 Data of individual variables first studied
 Distributions and outliers determined
 Errors looked for
 Bivariate analysis performed to test
hypothesis and determine relationships
 Multivariable analysis subsequently done
if there are more than one independent Using Ordinal Data in Statistical Tests
variable to consider
 Ordinal data are observations which
Number of Variables: can be ranked, cannot be measured
 Bivariate analysis on an exact scale
 Multivariable analysis Ordinal data in parametric statistical tests:
 *Multivariate
 Assume that ordinal data meets criteria for
Type of Variables: continuous (measurement) data
1. Continuous (C)  That differences of conceptual distances
2. Ordinal (O) between rankings are equal across a
3. Dichotomous (D) measurement scale
 Dichotomous paired (DP) Ordinal data in nonparametric statistical tests:
 Dichotomous unpaired (DU)
4. Nominal (N)  Ordinal data not assumed as if it were
continuous
 Use of non-parametric tests are specific to
analysis of ordinal data
 BIOEPI Lec- Chapter 10
 Very tedious calculations by hand; error-
prone; calculated using computers
Some Nonparametric Tests Using Ordinal Data:
1. Mann-Whitney U-Test
2. Wilcoxon Matched-Pairs Signed-Ranks Test
3. Kruskal-Wallis Test
4. Spearman and Kendall Correlation
Coefficients
5. Sign Test
6. Mood Median Test
Mann-Whitney U-Test (Wilcoxon Rank-sum
Test)
 Similar to two-sample t-test
 U designates probability distribution
 used to test whether two samples are likely
to derive from the same population
U =Rank
∑ −n(n+ 1)
2  Pearson correlation coefficient (r):
Wilcoxon Matched-Pairs Signed-Ranks Test
 A rank-order test comparable to paired t-
test
 commonly used to test for a difference in the
mean (or median) of paired observations
Kruskal-Wallis Test (Kruskal-Wallis one-way
ANOVA)
 Used to compare ordinal data of three or
more groups simultaneously
 Comparable to one-way analysis of
variance (F-test)
 Rank data numerically
 Take the sum of the rank values in each of
the groups compared
 Determines if the average ranks from three
or more groups differ from one another more
than expected if by chance alone
 Is an example of a critical ratio:
(magnitude of t h e difference)
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 Null hypothesis (H0) is rejected if ratio is
sufficiently large.
Spearman Rank Correlation Coefficient
Kendall Rank Correlation Coefficient
 Similar to regression analysis and
correlation analysis in relating continuous
variables
 Regression analysis: if variation of one of
two variables is a consequence of the other
variable
 Correlation analysis: if there’s no
prespecified need to evaluate the dependent
variable or if two variables are treated
symmetrically
With ordinal data, associations between
variables are assessed thru:
 Spearman rank correlation coefficient (rho)
 Kendall rank correlation coefficient (tau)
rho vs r
measure of strength of linear associations of
variables
 rho: measure of strength of any strictly
increasing or decreasing relationship
between variables, even if it is nonlinear
Tests for rho and tau often gives similar results:
rho used more in medical literature, more
conceptually similar to Pearson r
tau better suited for small sample sizes
Sign Test
 Used to compare results of experimental
studies – comparing results in the
experimental group vs control group
 Used to determine if there is a significant
change in the response of experimental
group in paired data
 Data on whether, on average, the
experimental participants or control
participants scored better on each outcome
variable, not by what amount
 Plus sign (+) if average score for the
variable is better in experimental group
 BIOEPI Lec- Chapter 10
 Minus sign (-) if the average for the
variable is better in control group
 No result recorded and variable is omitted if
both groups have equal average scores
Null Hypothesis (H0): the expected proportion of
plus signs is 0.5, and of minus signs is 0.5
Sign test compares the observed proportion of
successes with the expected value of 0.5

Mood Median Test

 Determines whether two independent
samples have the same median
 Null Hypothesis (H0): there is no difference
in the median between the two groups
 Uses a 2x2 table and a Chi-square test
 Each observation is compared to the pooled
median (two groups together)
Plus sign (+) if observation is above the pooled
median
Minus sign (-) if observation is below the pooled
median
2x2 table is constructed showing the numbers of
pluses and minuses for each group
Chi-square test is then performed determining
whether the proportion of pluses in each group is
the same; H0 is rejected if medians are not the

same.