Chapter 10

The t Test for Two

Independent Samples
 Chapter 10 Learning Outcomes

• Understand structure of research study appropriate

for independent-measures t hypothesis test
• Test the difference between two populations or two
treatments using independent-measures t statistic
 Tools You Will Need

• Sample variance (Chapter 4)

• Standard error formulas (Chapter 7)
• The t statistic (Chapter 9)
– Distribution of t values
– df for the t statistic
– Estimated standard error
 Review of Hypothesis Testing

Formulate H0 and H1
Select Appropriate Test
Choose Level of Significance
Calculate Test Statistic TSCAL

Determine Prob Assoc with Determine Critical Value of

Test Stat Test Stat
TSCR

Determine if TSCR
Compare with Level of
falls into (Non) Rejection
Significance, 
Region
Reject/Do not Reject H0

Draw Research Conclusion

 10-1 Introduction to the Independent
Measures Design

• Most research studies compare two (or more) sets

of data
– Data from two completely different, independent
participant groups (an independent-measures
research design or between-subjects design)
– Data from the same or related participant group(s)
(a within-subjects design or repeated-measures
research design)
Figure 10.1 The Structure of an
Independent-Measures Research Study
 10-2 The Hypotheses and the
Independent-Measures t Statistic

• Null hypothesis for independent-measures test (no

difference between the population means)

H 0 : 1 −  2 = 0
• Alternative hypothesis for the independent-
measures test (there is a mean difference)

H1 : 1 −  2  0
 The Formulas for an Independent-
Measures Hypothesis Test

• The basic structure of the t statistic

( M 1 − M 2 ) − ( 1 − 2 )
t=
s(M − M )
1 2

• t = [(sample statistic) – (hypothesized population

parameter)] divided by the estimated standard error
 The Estimated Standard Error

• Measure of standard or average distance between

sample statistic (M1 – M2) and the population
parameter

s2 s2

s( M − M ) = +
1
2
1 2
n1 n2
 Assumptions Underlying the
Independent-Measures t Formula

• The observations within each sample must be

independent
• The two populations from which the samples are
selected must be normal
• The two populations from which the samples are
selected must have equal variances (called
homogeneity of variance)
 The Final Formula and Degrees of
Freedom
• Degrees of freedom (df) for the t statistic is
df for first sample + df for second sample

df = df1 + df 2 = (n1 − 1) + (n2 − 1)

 Learning Check

• Decide if each of the following statements

is True or False.
• T/F
– If both samples have n = 10, the independent-
measures t statistic will have df = 19.
• T/F
– A t-test for independent-measures, the estimated
standard error measures how much difference is
reasonable to expect between the sample means if
there is no treatment effect.
 Learning Check 1 – Answers (2 of 2)

• False
– df = (n1 – 1) + (n2 – 1) = 9 + 9 = 18
• True
– This is an accurate interpretation
 10-3 Hypothesis Tests with the
Independent-Measures t Statistic

• Independent-measures hypothesis tests use the

same four steps as other hypothesis tests we’ve
discussed
– State the hypotheses and select the alpha level
– Locate the critical region (t-table)
– Obtain the data & compute the test statistic
– Make a decision
 Reporting the Results of an
Independent-Measures t Test

• Report whether the difference between the two

groups was significant
• Report descriptive statistics (M and SD) for each
group
• Report t statistic and df
• Report Confidence Interval immediately after t, for
example, 95% Confidence Interval
• Report p-value
 Example #1
1. Compute for the Mean
DATA Group 1 Group 2

7 5
8 4
10 7
8 6
7 7
6 5
4 3
7 4
8 4
9 5
TOTAL: 74 50
MEAN: 74/10 = 7.4 50/10 = 5
 Example #1
2. Compute for the Sum of Squares

DATA s𝒙𝟏 s𝒙𝟐𝟏 s𝒙𝟐 s𝒙𝟐𝟐

7 49 5 25
8 64 4 16
10 100 7 49
8 64 6 36
7 49 7 49
6 36 5 25
4 16 3 9
7 49 4 16
8 64 4 16
9 81 5 25
TOTAL: 74 Σ𝒙𝟐𝟏 572 50 Σ𝒙𝟐𝟐 = 266

MEAN: 7.4 5
 Example #1
3. Compute for the Variance

𝐺𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑝 1 𝐺𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑝 2

𝒔𝟐𝟏 = 2.44 𝒔𝟐𝟐 = 1.6

 Example #1
4. Compute for the Standard Error
 Example #1
5. Compute for t-test (t-value)
 Example #1
6. Compute for critical value

df = (𝑁1 −1) + (𝑁2 −1)

df = (10 − 1) + (10 − 1)
df = 18

𝛼 = 0.05 Level of Significance

 Example #1
6.1 Compare t-value to t-table
 Example #1
7. Decision

If t-value > t-table, reject null hypothesis.

“There is no significant difference between Group 1 and Group 2.”
If t-value < t-table, accept null hypothesis

Decision:
t-value = 3.58
t-table = 2.101 (two tailed, at 0.05 𝛼 level)

There is a significant difference between Group 1 and Group 2.

 Example #2 (Provided by Ms. Zab)
1. Compute for the Mean

1.1 Life Satisfaction of students in relation to their family status.

DATA Complete Family Broken Family

7 5
8 4
10 7
8 6
7 7
6 5
4 3
7 4
8 4
9 5
TOTAL: 74 50
MEAN: 74/10 = 7.4 50/10 = 5

Mean = Sum of data points / Number of data points

 Example #2
2. Compute for the Sum of Squares

Life Satisfaction of students in relation to their family status.

DATA s𝒙𝟏 s𝒙𝟐𝟏 s𝒙𝟐 s𝒙𝟐𝟐

7 49 5 25
8 64 6 36
10 100 7 49
10 100 4 16
6 36 4 16
4 16 5 25
8 64 4 16
9 81 6 36
7 49 7 49
7 49 3 9
TOTAL: 76 Σ𝒙𝟐𝟏 = 608 51 Σ𝒙𝟐𝟐 = 277

MEAN: 7.6 5.1

 Example #2
3. Compute for the Variance

Life Satisfaction of students in relation to their family status.

𝒔𝟐𝟏 = Σ𝒙𝟐𝟏 ―𝑴𝟐𝟏 𝒔𝟐𝟏 = Σ𝒙𝟐𝟐 ―𝑴𝟐𝟐

𝑁1 𝑁1

𝒔𝟐𝟏 = 608― 7.62 𝒔𝟐𝟐 = 277 ― 5.12

10 10

𝒔𝟐𝟏 = 60.8 ― 57.76 𝒔𝟐𝟐 = 27.7 ― 26.01

𝒔𝟐𝟏 = 3.04 VARIANCE 𝒔𝟐𝟐 = 1.69 VARIANCE

 Example #2
4. Compute for the Standard Error

Life Satisfaction of students in relation to their family

status.
𝑀1 − 𝑀2
𝑆𝑀1 − 𝑀2
7.6 −5.1
t=
0.72494

2.5
𝑡=
0.72494

t= 3.45

𝑠𝑀1 ―𝑀2 = √0.72494

 Example #2
5. Compute for the t-test (t-value)

Life Satisfaction of students in relation to their family

status.
𝑀1−𝑀2
t=
𝑆𝑀1 −𝑀2
7.6 −5.1
t = 0.72494

2.5
𝑡=
0.72494

t = 3.44856

t = 3.45
 Example #2
6. Compute for critical value

df = (𝑁1 −1) + (𝑁2 −1)

df = (10 − 1) + (10 − 1)
df = 18

𝛼 = 0.05 Level of Significance

 Example #2
6.1 Compare t-value to t-table
 Example #2
7. Decision

If t-value > t-table, reject null hypothesis.

“There is no significant difference…”
If t-value < t-table, accept null hypothesis

Decision:
t-value = 3.45
t-table = 1.734 (two tailed, at 0.05 𝛼 level)

There is a significant difference between the life satisfaction

score of Complete Family and Broken Family .
Clear Your Doubts, Ask Questions