Non-parametric test
Niaz Mahmud Zafri
Lecturer, Dept. of Urban and Regional Planning,
Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET)
Office: Room- URP 08, Architecture Building, BUET
E-mail: zafri@urp.buet.ac.bd
Mann-Whitney U-Test
Mann-Whitney U-Test
The Mann-Whitney U-Test can be used to test whether there is a difference between two
groups, and the data need not be normally distributed.
To determine this difference, the rank sums of the two groups are used rather than the
means as in the t-test for independent samples.
The Mann-Whitney U test is thus the non-parametric counterpart to the t-test for
independent samples; it is subject to less stringent requirements than the t-test. Therefore,
the Mann-Whitney U test is always used when the requirement of normal distribution for
the t-test is not met.
t-test need the samples were sufficiently large (usually n 1> 30 and n2> 30) to justify their
use based on the Central Limit Theorem. When comparing two independent samples
when the outcome is not normally distributed and the samples are small, a nonparametric
test is appropriate.
Assumptions Mann-Whitney U
Tests
To be able to calculate a Mann-Whitney U test, only two independent
random samples with at least ordinally scaled characteristics must be
available. The variables do not have to satisfy any distribution curve.
Hypotheses Mann-Whitney U-
Tests
The hypotheses of the Mann-Whitney U-test are very similar to the hypotheses
of the independent t-test. The difference, however, is that in the case of the
Mann-Whitney U test, the test is based on a difference in the central tendency,
whereas in the case of the t test, the test is based on a difference in the mean
values. Thus, the Mann-Whitney U test results in:
Null hypothesis: There is no difference (in terms of central tendency) between the two
groups in the population.
Alternative hypothesis: There is a difference (with respect to the central tendency)
between the two groups in the population.
Calculate Mann-Whitney U Test
Step 1: Group the two samples from two populations (sample 1 is from
population 1 and sample 2 is from population 2) into a single data set and then
sort the data in ascending order ranked from 1 to n, where n is the total number
of observations.
Step 2: Add up the ranks for all the observations from sample 1 and call it R1.
Add up the ranks for all the observations from sample 2 and call it R2.
Calculate Mann-Whitney U
Test
Step 3: Calculate the test statistics U
η1 and η2 are the sample sizes
R1 and R2 are the sum of ranks for observations
from sample 1 and 2 respectively
Calculate Mann-Whitney U
Test
If both of the sample sizes are smaller than 10, the distribution of U
under the null hypothesis is tabulated.
The test statistic is U and significance level α, by using the Mann–Whitney
table, we would find the critical value of U.
If the observed value of U is less than or equal to the critical value, we reject H 0 in
favor of Ha .
If the observed value of U exceeds the critical value we do not reject H 0.
Calculate Mann-Whitney U
Test
If both sample sizes are greater than 10, the distribution of U can be
approximated by a normal distribution. In other words, (U-μ)/σ follows a
standard normal distribution.
Calculate Mann-Whitney U test
with tied ranks
Problem 1
A new approach to prenatal care is proposed for pregnant women living in a rural community. The
new program involves in-home visits during the course of pregnancy in addition to the usual or
regularly scheduled visits. A pilot randomized trial with 15 pregnant women is designed to evaluate
whether women who participate in the program deliver healthier babies than women receiving usual
care. The outcome is the APGAR score measured 5 minutes after birth. Recall that APGAR scores
range from 0 to 10 with scores of 7 or higher considered normal (healthy), 4-6 low and 0-3 critically
low. The data are shown below.
Is there statistical evidence of a difference in APGAR scores in women receiving the new and
enhanced versus usual prenatal care?
Problem 2
Suppose that the board of regents of a large eastern state university wants to test the
hypothesis that the mean SAT scores of students at two branches of the state university
are equal. The board keeps statistics on all students at all branches of the system. A
random sample of 15 students from each branch has produced the data shown in Table
14-3. The board of regents wishes to test at the 0.15 level of significance
Problem 2 solution
Kruskal–Wallis Test
The Kruskal-Wallis test (H-test) is a hypothesis test for multiple independent samples,
which is used when the requirements for a one-way ANOVA are not met.
Since the Kruskal-Wallis test is a nonparametric test (also called a distribution-free test),
the data used do not have to be normally distributed, in contrast to analysis of variance.
The only requirement is that the data be ordinal scale.
Assumptions for the Kruskal-Wallis
test
Hypotheses in the Kruskal-Wallis
test
The research question for the Kruskal-Wallis test may be: Is there a difference in the
central tendency of several independent samples? This question position then results in
the null and alternative hypothesis.
Null hypothesis: The independent samples all have the same central tendency and
therefore come from the same population.
Alternative hypothesis: At least one of the independent samples does not have the
same central tendency as the other samples and therefore originates from a different
population.
Calculate Kruskal-Wallis-Test
Step 1: Ranking the items to be tested
Step 2: Rearranging data to compute sums
of ranks
Step 3: Computing the k statistic
Calculate Kruskal-Wallis-Test
Calculate Kruskal-Wallis-Test
The sampling distribution of the K statistic can be approximated by a
chi-square distribution when all the sample sizes are at least 5.
In a Kruskal-Wallis test, the appropriate number of degrees of freedom
is k – 1; k- number of groups
Compare critical value with test statistics and make decision.
Problem 3
In Table 14-6, we have shown the scores of a sample of 20
student pilots on their Federal Aviation Agency written examination, arranged according
to which method was used in their training: video cassette, audio cassette, or class room
training. The FAA is interested in evaluating the effectiveness of these three training
methods. Specifically, it wants to test at the 0.10 level of significance the hypothesis that
the mean written examination scores of student pilots trained by each of these three
methods are equal.
Problem 3 solution help
Thank You
