Posted: November 2nd, 2015

Week 4 Discussion

Week 4 Discussion

Using t Tests

In order to set up a research study, you must state your expectations and hypothesize what will happen if you compare your participants to those in the general population or to those in another group. You also need to determine the type of relationship you expect. In comparing means of groups, you may predict that one group’s mean will be higher than another. You may predict that one group’s mean will be lower than another. In either of these cases, you will implement a one-tailed test because you are predicting the direction of the relationship. If you think the means will be different but you are not sure if they will be higher or lower, you implement a two-tailed test. Once you plan your study and state your hypotheses, you collect your data, calculate results, and interpret the meaning of those results.

In this Discussion, you will create a scenario that would require using the one-sample t test and then explain what you would change in order to turn the one-sample t test into a two-sample t test. While you will not need to complete calculations, you will be asked to explain your study design and discuss why you made the choices you did. This experience will help you later to review studies and critique the interpretation of data.

Post by Day 3 your one-sample t test scenario. What would need to change in the scenario to result in the need for a two-sample t test? Explain whether the two-sample scenario would be categorized as having independent samples or related samples and discuss why. Support your post using the Learning Resources.

This page contains the Learning Resources for this week. Be sure to scroll down the page to see all of this week’s assigned Learning Resources.

Required Resources

Readings

• Heiman, G. (2015). Behavioral sciences STAT 2 (2nd ed). Stamford, CT: Cengage..
  • Chapter 8, “Hypothesis Testing Using the One-Sample t-test” (pp.126-138)
  • Chapter 9, “Hypothesis Testing Using the Two-Sample t-test” (pp.140-158)
  • Chapter 9 Review Card (p. 9.4)

Media

• StatsLectures. (2011a). SPSS – Dependent samples t-test [Video file]. Retrieved fromhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzitbJHIBQM

  Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 4 minutes.

  This resource can help you determine a dependent-samples t test from sample data in SPSS.

• StatsLectures. (2011c). SPSS – Independent samples t-test [Video file]. Retrieved fromhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUUfBWlziIU

  Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 5 minutes.

  This resource can help you conduct an independent-sample t test from sample data in SPSS.