The t Test for Independent Prepared by:

Means Jhunar John M. Tauy, RPm

 t Test for
Independent Means

• hypothesis-testing procedure in
which there are two separate
groups of people tested and in
which the population variance is
not known.
 Distribution of
Differences Between
Means
• distribution of differences between
means of pairs of samples such
that, for each pair of means, one is
from one population and the other
is from a second population
• the comparison distribution in a t
test for independent means
 Distribution of
Differences Between
Means
1. The Mean of the Distribution of Differences of
Means
2. The Estimated Population Variance of the Two
Distribution of Means
3. The Variance of the Two Distribution of Means
4. The Variance and the Standard Deviation of the
Distribution of the Differences of Mean
5. The Shape of the Distribution of Differences
Between Means
6. The t Score for the Difference Between the Two
Means being Compared
 Mean of the
Distribution of
Differences of
Means

• The mean of the distribution

of differences of means is 0.
 Estimating the
Population Variance
• 
Pooled Estimate of the Population
Variance
• in a t test for independent means,
weighted average of the estimates of
the population variance from two
samples (each estimate weighted by
the proportion consisting of sample’s
degrees of freedom divided by the
total degrees of freedom for both
samples).
 Estimating the
Population Variance

Weighted Average
• average in which the scores being
averaged do not have equal
influence on the total, as in
figuring the pooled variance
estimate in a t test for
independent means
 Estimating the
Population Variance
 

=
 Figuring the
Variance of Each of
the Two
Distribution of
•  Means
Variance of the Distribution of
Means (For Group 1)
 Figuring the
Variance of Each of
the Two
Distribution of
•  Means
Variance of the Distribution of
Means (For Group 2)
 The Variance and
Standard Deviation of the
Distribution of
Differences Between
Means
• 
Variance of a Distribution of
Differences Between Means
• one of the numbers figured as the
part of a t test for independent
means
• it is equals the sum of the variances
of the distribution of means
associated with each of the two
samples.
 The Variance and
Standard Deviation of the
Distribution of
Differences Between
Means
• 
Variance of a Distribution of
Differences Between Means

+
Summary of the Different Types of Variance
Used in t Test for Independent Means
 The Variance and
Standard Deviation of the
Distribution of
Differences Between
Means
• 
Standard Deviation of a
Distribution of Differences
Between Means
 Steps to Find the
Standard Deviation of the
Distribution of
Differences Between
Means
1. Figure the estimated population variances
based on each sample
2. Figure the pooled estimate of the
population variance
3. Figure the variance of each distribution of
means
4. Figure the variance of the distribution of
differences between means
5. Figure the standard deviation of the
distribution of differences between means.
 The Shape of the
Distribution of Difference
Between Means

ⅆ𝑓 𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙=ⅆ𝑓 1+ⅆ𝑓 2
• 
 The t Score for the
Differences Between the
Two Actual Means

𝑀 1− 𝑀 2
• 

𝑡=
𝑆 𝐷𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒
 Twenty students were recruited to take part in the
study. The 10 students randomly assigned to the
expressive writing group wrote about their thoughts
and feelings associated with their most traumatic life
events. The 10 students randomly assigned to the
control group wrote about their plans for the day.
One month later, all of the students rated their
Example 1 overall level of physical health on a scale from 0 =
very poor health to 100 = perfect health. (Although
this example is based on actual studies, we made up
the details we use here to be an easier example to
follow for learning. Mainly, actual studies usually
have large samples. Real studies on this kind of topic
also often use more objective measures of health,
such as number of physician visits or days missed
from school.)
 The following are the scores for the two
groups:

Expressive Writing Group

Example 1 77 , 88, 77, 90, 68, 74, 62, 93, 82, 79

Control Group
87, 77, 71, 70, 63 ,50, 58, 63, 76, 65
 Assumptions of the t
Test for Independent
Means

1. Each population is assumed to

follow a normal curve
2. Homogeneity of Variance
3. The scores are independent
from each other
 Effect Size and Power
for the t Test for
Independent Means

𝑀1− 𝑀2
• 

𝑑=
𝑆 𝑝𝑜𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑑
Effect Size and Power for the t Tet for
Independent Means
Planning the Sample Size with 80%
Statistical Power
Review of the Three Kinds of t Test
 The t Test for Independent Means in
Research Articles
For Expressive Writing Study:
The results obtained showed that the expressive writing was
effective, t(18) = 2.42, p < 0.05, two-tailed. The group who utilized
expressive writing showed higher physical health (M = 79.00, SD = 9.72)
than the group who does not utilized expressive writing (M = 68.00, SD
= 10.55).
In addition, the effect of the expressive writing was large (d = 1.08)
and 24% of the proportion of variance in the physical health was
accounted for by whether one had utilized expressive writing or not.
 Advanced Topic: Power
for the t Test for
Independent Means When
Sample Size Are Not
Equal
Harmonic Mean
• special average influenced
disproportionately by smaller numbers
• in a t test for independent means when
the number of scores in the two groups
differ, the harmonic mean is used as the
equivalent of each group’s sample size
when determining power
 Advanced Topic: Power
for the t Test for
Independent Means When
Sample Size Are Not
Equal
• 

Harmonic Mean =
 The t Test for Independent Means (SPSS)
1. Enter the scores into SPSS. SPSS assumes that all
scores in a row are from the same person. In this
example, each person is in only one of the two
groups (either expressive writing group or the
control writing group). Thus, to tell SPSS which
person is in each group, you should enter the
numbers as shown in the next slide.
The t Test for
Independent
Means (SPSS)
 The t Test for Independent Means (SPSS)
2. Click Analyze
3. Click Compare Means
4. Click Independent-Samples T-Test
5. Click the Variable “Health” and click the arrow to the box labeled “Test
Variable(s).
6. Click the Variable “Group” and click the arrow to the labeled “Grouping
Variable”.
7. Click Define Groups.
8. Put 1 in the Group 1 box and 2 in the Group 2 Box and press Continue
9. Click Ok
The t Test for Independent Means (SPSS)
 Non-Parametric
Measures of
Differences
Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test
• nonparametric test
equivalent to the dependent
t-test.
• used to compare two sets of
scores that come from the
same participants.
 Assumptions of
Wilcoxon Signed-Rank
Test

1. The dependent variable should be

measured at the ordinal or
continuous level
2. The independent variable should
consist of two categorical, “related
groups” or “matched pairs”.
3. The distribution is not normal
 Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test (SPSS)
1. Click Analyze > Nonparametric Tests > Legacy Dialogs > 2 Related
Samples... on the top menu, as shown below:
 Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test (SPSS)
2. You will be presented with the Two-Related-Samples Tests dialogue
box, as shown below:
 Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test (SPSS)
3. Transfer the variables you are interested in analyzing into the “Test
Pairs” Box
 Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test (SPSS)
4. If you want to generate descriptives or quartiles for your variables,
select them by clicking the “Options” button and ticking the
“Descriptive” and “Quartiles” checkboxes in the Statistics area.

5. Click Continue, then, Click Ok.

Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test (SPSS)
 Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test in Research
Articles
A Wilcoxon signed-rank test showed that a 4 week, twice
weekly acupuncture treatment course did not elicit a
statistically significant change in lower back pain in individuals
with existing lower back pain (Z = -1.807, p = 0.071). Indeed,
median Pain Score rating was 5.0 both pre- and post-
treatment.
 Non-Parametric
Measures of
Differences
Mann-Whitney U Test
• used to compare differences
between two independent
groups when the dependent
variable is either ordinal or
continuous, but not
normally distributed.
 Assumptions of the
Mann-Whitney U Test

1. The dependent variable should be

measured at the ordinal or continuous
level.
2. The independent variable should consist
of two categorical, independent groups.
3. You should have independence of
observations
4. The two variables are not normally
distributed
 Mann-Whitney U Test (SPSS)
1. Click Analyze > Nonparametric Tests > Legacy Dialogs >
2 Independent Samples... on the top menu, as shown below:
 Mann-Whitney U Test (SPSS)
2. You will be presented with the Two-Independent-Samples
Tests dialogue box, as shown below:
 Mann-Whitney U Test (SPSS)
3. Transfer the dependent variable to the “Test Variable” List box and
the independent variable to the “Grouping Variable” Box by using
the arrow button.
 Mann-Whitney U Test (SPSS)
4. Click “Define Groups” button. The button will not be clickable if you have not highlighted
the “Grouping Variable” box.

5. If you want to generate descriptives or quartiles for your variables, select them by clicking
the “Options” button and ticking the “Descriptive” and “Quartiles” checkboxes in the
Statistics area.
6. Enter “1” for Group 1 and “2” for Group 2. Click Continue, then, Click OK,
Mann-Whitney U Test (SPSS)
Mann-Whitney U Test in Research Articles

Based from the gathered data, it can be concluded

that cholesterol concentration in the diet group was
statistically significantly higher than the exercise group
(U = 110, p = .014).