Choosing the Right Statistical Test:

Types & Examples

Statistical tests are used in hypothesis testing. They can be used to:

 determine whether a predictor variable has a statistically significant relationship with

an outcome variable.
 estimate the difference between two or more groups.

Statistical tests assume a null hypothesis of no relationship or no difference between groups.

Then they determine whether the observed data fall outside of the range of values predicted by
the null hypothesis.

If you already know what types of variables you’re dealing with, you can use the flowchart to
choose the right statistical test for your data.

What does a statistical test do?

Statistical tests work by calculating a test statistic – a number that describes how much the
relationship between variables in your test differs from the null hypothesis of no relationship.

It then calculates a p value (probability value). The p-value estimates how likely it is that you
would see the difference described by the test statistic if the null hypothesis of no relationship
were true.

If the value of the test statistic is more extreme than the statistic calculated from the null
hypothesis, then you can infer a statistically significant relationship between the predictor and
outcome variables.

If the value of the test statistic is less extreme than the one calculated from the null hypothesis,
then you can infer no statistically significant relationship between the predictor and outcome
variables.

Statistical assumptions
Statistical tests make some common assumptions about the data they are testing:

1. Independence of observations (a.k.a. no autocorrelation): The observations/variables

you include in your test are not related (for example, multiple measurements of a single
test subject are not independent, while measurements of multiple different test subjects
are independent).
2. Homogeneity of variance: the variance within each group being compared is similar
among all groups. If one group has much more variation than others, it will limit the
test’s effectiveness.
3. Normality of data: the data follows a normal distribution (a.k.a. a bell curve). This
assumption applies only to quantitative data.

If your data do not meet the assumptions of normality or homogeneity of variance, you may be
able to perform a nonparametric statistical test, which allows you to make comparisons
without any assumptions about the data distribution.

If your data do not meet the assumption of independence of observations, you may be able to use
a test that accounts for structure in your data (repeated-measures tests or tests that include
blocking variables).

Types of variables
The types of variables you have usually determine what type of statistical test you can use.

Quantitative variables represent amounts of things (e.g. the number of trees in a forest). Types
of quantitative variables include:

 Continuous (aka ratio variables): represent measures and can usually be divided into
units smaller than one (e.g. 0.75 grams).
 Discrete (aka integer variables): represent counts and usually can’t be divided into units
smaller than one (e.g. 1 tree).

Categorical variables represent groupings of things (e.g. the different tree species in a forest).
Types of categorical variables include:

 Ordinal: represent data with an order (e.g. rankings).

 Nominal: represent group names (e.g. brands or species names).
 Binary: represent data with a yes/no or 1/0 outcome (e.g. win or lose).

Choose the test that fits the types of predictor and outcome variables you have collected (if you
are doing an experiment, these are the independent and dependent variables). Consult the tables
below to see which test best matches your variables.

Choosing a parametric test: regression, comparison,

or correlation
Parametric tests usually have stricter requirements than nonparametric tests, and are able to make
stronger inferences from the data. They can only be conducted with data that adheres to the
common assumptions of statistical tests.

The most common types of parametric test include regression tests, comparison tests, and
correlation tests.
Regression tests
Regression tests look for cause-and-effect relationships. They can be used to estimate the effect
of one or more continuous variables on another variable.

Predictor variable Outcome variable Research question example

Simple linear  Continuous  Continuous What is the effect of income on longevity?

regression  1 predictor  1 outcome

Multiple linear  Continuous  Continuous What is the effect of income and minutes of
regression  2 or more  1 outcome exercise per day on longevity?
predictors

Logistic  Continuous  Binary What is the effect of drug dosage on

regression the survival of a test subject?

Comparison tests
Comparison tests look for differences among group means. They can be used to test the effect
of a categorical variable on the mean value of some other characteristic.

T-tests are used when comparing the means of precisely two groups (e.g., the average heights of
men and women). ANOVA and MANOVA tests are used when comparing the means of more
than two groups (e.g., the average heights of children, teenagers, and adults).

Predictor variable Outcome variable Research question example

Paired t-test  Categorical  Quantitative What is the effect of two different test
 1 predictor  groups come from prep programs on the average exam
the same scores for students from the same class?
population

Independent  Categorical  Quantitative What is the difference in average exam

t-test  1 predictor  groups come from scores for students from two different
different schools?
populations

ANOVA  Categorical  Quantitative What is the difference in average pain

 1 or more  1 outcome levels among post-surgical patients
predictor given three different painkillers?

MANOVA  Categorical  Quantitative What is the effect of flower

 1 or more  2 or more outcome species on petal length, petal width,
predictor and stem length?
Correlation tests
Correlation tests check whether variables are related without hypothesizing a cause-and-effect
relationship.

These can be used to test whether two variables you want to use in (for example) a multiple
regression test are autocorrelated.

Variables Research question example

Pearson’s r  2 continuous variables How are latitude and temperature related?

Choosing a nonparametric test

Non-parametric tests don’t make as many assumptions about the data, and are useful when one
or more of the common statistical assumptions are violated. However, the inferences they make
aren’t as strong as with parametric tests.

Predictor variable Outcome variable Use in

place of…

Spearman’s r  Quantitative  Quantitative Pearson’s r

Chi square test of  Categorical  Categorical Pearson’s r

independence
Sign test  Categorical  Quantitative One-sample
t-test
Kruskal–Wallis H  Categorical  Quantitative ANOVA
 3 or more
groups

ANOSIM  Categorical  Quantitative MANOVA

 3 or more  2 or more outcome
groups variables

Wilcoxon Rank-Sum test  Categorical  Quantitative Independent

 2 groups  groups come from t-test
different populations

Wilcoxon Signed-rank test  Categorical  Quantitative Paired t-test

 2 groups  groups come from
the same population

Flowchart: choosing a statistical test

This flowchart helps you choose among parametric tests. For nonparametric alternatives, check
the table above.

Bevans, R. (2022, December 05). Choosing the Right Statistical Test | Types & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved June
21, 2023, from https://www.scribbr.com/statistics/statistical-tests/