Treatment FAQ

which test to use when measuring before and after treatment when scores are normally distributed

by Nikolas Cole Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago
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For before and after comparison for continuous variables (e.g. systolic blood pressure before and after treatment) then a paired t-test may be appropriate. If the data is not normally distributed then an alternative would be the Wilcoxon Sign Rank test.

T tests (paired and unpaired)
With paired t tests, which are used when two measurements are taken on the same data point (for example, before and after measurements for each test subject), the model assumption is that the differences between the two measurements are normally distributed.
Aug 30, 2021

Full Answer

When to use nonparametric tests in clinical trials?

When to Use a Nonparametric Test 1 Using an Ordinal Scale. Consider a clinical trial where study participants are asked to rate their symptom severity following 6 weeks on the assigned treatment. 2 When the Outcome is a Rank. In some studies, the outcome is a rank. ... 3 When There Are Outliers. ... 4 Advantages of Nonparametric Tests. ...

Why do small samples most often pass normality tests?

For small sample sizes, normality tests have little power to reject the null hypothesis and therefore small samples most often pass normality tests (7).

What are the tests for the assessment of normality?

The main tests for the assessment of normality are Kolmogorov-Smirnov (K-S) test (7), Lilliefors corrected K-S test (7, 10), Shapiro-Wilk test (7, 10), Anderson-Darling test (7)]

How do you decide which test to use?

In deciding which test is appropriate to use, it is important to consider the type of variables that you have (i.e., whether your variables are categorical, ordinal or interval and whether they are normally distributed), see What is the difference between categorical, ordinal and interval variables? for more information on this.

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Which tests are used when data is normally distributed?

The two well-known tests of normality, namely, the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test and the Shapiro–Wilk test are most widely used methods to test the normality of the data. Normality tests can be conducted in the statistical software “SPSS” (analyze → descriptive statistics → explore → plots → normality plots with tests).

What is the best test to use when we are dealing with a before and after data wherein there is only one group?

For before and after comparison for continuous variables (e.g. systolic blood pressure before and after treatment) then a paired t-test may be appropriate. If the data is not normally distributed then an alternative would be the Wilcoxon Sign Rank test.

What statistical test do you use for pre and post test?

Paired samples t-test– a statistical test of the difference between a set of paired samples, such as pre-and post-test scores. This is sometimes called the dependent samples t-test.

Which test should I run if I want to know if my normally distributed data is representative of the population?

Z-test. In a z-test, the sample is assumed to be normally distributed. A z-score is calculated with population parameters such as “population mean” and “population standard deviation” and is used to validate a hypothesis that the sample drawn belongs to the same population.

When do you use ANOVA vs t-test?

The Student's t test is used to compare the means between two groups, whereas ANOVA is used to compare the means among three or more groups.

What is t-test and ANOVA?

The t-test is a method that determines whether two populations are statistically different from each other, whereas ANOVA determines whether three or more populations are statistically different from each other.

When do we use chi square test?

You use a Chi-square test for hypothesis tests about whether your data is as expected. The basic idea behind the test is to compare the observed values in your data to the expected values that you would see if the null hypothesis is true.

When do you use the Mann Whitney U test?

The Mann-Whitney U test is used to compare whether there is a difference in the dependent variable for two independent groups. It compares whether the distribution of the dependent variable is the same for the two groups and therefore from the same population.

When do you use independent t-test?

The independent t-test is used when you have two separate groups of individuals or cases in a between-participants design (for example: male vs female; experimental vs control group).

What is at test and z-test?

Content: T-test Vs Z-test T-test refers to a type of parametric test that is applied to identify, how the means of two sets of data differ from one another when variance is not given. Z-test implies a hypothesis test which ascertains if the means of two datasets are different from each other when variance is given.

When do you use Kolmogorov Smirnov test for normality?

The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test is used to test the null hypothesis that a set of data comes from a Normal distribution. The Kolmogorov Smirnov test produces test statistics that are used (along with a degrees of freedom parameter) to test for normality. Here we see that the Kolmogorov Smirnov statistic takes value .

Does t-test need normal distribution?

The conditions required to conduct the t-test include the measured values in ratio scale or interval scale, simple random extraction, normal distribution of data, appropriate sample size, and homogeneity of variance.

What is a t-test?

A t-test is a statistical test that compares the means of two samples . It is used in hypothesis testing , with a null hypothesis that the di...

What does a t-test measure?

A t-test measures the difference in group means divided by the pooled standard error of the two group means. In this way, it calculates a numbe...

Which t-test should I use?

Your choice of t-test depends on whether you are studying one group or two groups, and whether you care about the direction of the difference in...

What is the difference between a one-sample t-test and a paired t-test?

A one-sample t-test is used to compare a single population to a standard value (for example, to determine whether the average lifespan of a speci...

Can I use a t-test to measure the difference among several groups?

A t-test should not be used to measure differences among more than two groups, because the error structure for a t-test will underestimate the ac...

When to use t-test?

When to use a t-test. A t-test can only be used when comparing the means of two groups (a .k.a. pairwise comparison). If you want to compare more than two groups, or if you want to do multiple pairwise comparisons, use an ANOVA test or a post-hoc test. The t-test is a parametric test of difference, meaning that it makes the same assumptions about ...

What is a t-test?

Published on January 31, 2020 by Rebecca Bevans. Revised on December 14, 2020. A t-test is a statistical test that is used to compare the means of two groups. It is often used in hypothesis testing to determine whether a process or treatment actually has an effect on the population of interest, ...

How to test whether petal length differs by species?

In your test of whether petal length differs by species: Your observations come from two separate populations (separate species), so you perform a two-sample t-test. You don’t care about the direction of the difference, only whether there is a difference, so you choose to use a two-tailed t-test.

What is a t test in statistics?

Most statistical software (R, SPSS, etc.) includes a t-test function. This built-in function will take your raw data and calculate the t -value. It will then compare it to the critical value, and calculate a p -value. This way you can quickly see whether your groups are statistically different.

What are the values to include in a t-test?

When reporting your t-test results, the most important values to include are the t-value, the p-value, and the degrees of freedom for the test. These will communicate to your audience whether the difference between the two groups is statistically significant (a.k.a. that it is unlikely to have happened by chance).

What is the null hypothesis?

You can test the difference between these two groups using a t-test. The null hypothesis (H 0) is that the true difference between these group means is zero. The alternate hypothesis (H a) is that the true difference is different from zero.

Why subtract pre values from post values?

Lots of people do this. However, the purpose of subtracting the pre values from the post values is to control for variation in the pre values. Put another way, if the pre values were all the same, you could just use the post values, which would fully reflect the difference.

Can you do a MANOVA if you have a paired t-test?

You can do a MANOVA to control for the fact that a and b might be correlated. If a and b are not correlated, you could also probably make the case for doing two paired t-tests, one for a and one for b. People do this all the time, even if a and b are indeed correlated.

What is the nonparametric test used to compare outcomes among more than two independent groups?

A popular nonparametric test to compare outcomes among more than two independent groups is the Kruskal Wallis test. The Kruskal Wallis test is used to compare medians among k comparison groups (k > 2) and is sometimes described as an ANOVA with the data replaced by their ranks. The null and research hypotheses for the Kruskal Wallis nonparametric test are stated as follows:

What is a parametric test?

Parametric tests involve specific probability distributions (e.g ., the normal distribution) and the tests involve estimation of the key parameters of that distribution (e.g., the mean or difference in means) from the sample data.

What is the nonparametric test for matched data?

Another popular nonparametric test for matched or paired data is called the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test. Like the Sign Test, it is based on difference scores, but in addition to analyzing the signs of the differences, it also takes into account the magnitude of the observed differences.

What are the three modules of hypothesis testing?

The three modules on hypothesis testing presented a number of tests of hypothesis for continuous, dichotomous and discrete outcomes . Tests for continuous outcomes focused on comparing means, while tests for dichotomous and discrete outcomes focused on comparing proportions. All of the tests presented in the modules on hypothesis testing are called parametric tests and are based on certain assumptions. For example, when running tests of hypothesis for means of continuous outcomes, all parametric tests assume that the outcome is approximately normally distributed in the population. This does not mean that the data in the observed sample follows a normal distribution, but rather that the outcome follows a normal distribution in the full population which is not observed. For many outcomes, investigators are comfortable with the normality assumption (i.e., most of the observations are in the center of the distribution while fewer are at either extreme). It also turns out that many statistical tests are robust, which means that they maintain their statistical properties even when assumptions are not entirely met. Tests are robust in the presence of violations of the normality assumption when the sample size is large based on the Central Limit Theorem (see page 11 in the module on Probability). When the sample size is small and the distribution of the outcome is not known and cannot be assumed to be approximately normally distributed, then alternative tests called nonparametric tests are appropriate.

What is the test statistic for the sign test?

The test statistic for the Sign Test is the number of positive signs or number of negative signs, whichever is smaller. In this example, we observe 2 negative and 6 positive signs. Is this evidence of significant improvement or simply due to chance?

What is the QOL of chemotherapy?

Quality of life (QOL) is measured on an ordinal scale and for analysis purposes, numbers are assigned to each response category as follows: 1=Poor, 2= Fair, 3=Good, 4= Very Good, 5 = Excellent. The data are shown below.

What is anaerobic threshold?

Anaerobic threshold is defined as the point at which the muscles cannot get more oxygen to sustain activity or the upper limit of aerobic exercise. It is a measure also related to maximum heart rate. The following data are anaerobic thresholds for distance runners, distance cyclists, distance swimmers and cross-country skiers.

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Introduction

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The three modules on hypothesis testing presented a number of tests of hypothesis for continuous, dichotomous and discrete outcomes. Tests for continuous outcomes focused on comparing means, while tests for dichotomous and discrete outcomes focused on comparing proportions. All of the tests presen…
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Learning Objectives

  • After completing this module, the student will be able to: 1. Compare and contrast parametric and nonparametric tests 2. Identify multiple applications where nonparametric approaches are appropriate 3. Perform and interpret the Mann Whitney U Test 4. Perform and interpret the Sign test and Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test 5. Compare and contrast the Sign test and Wilcoxon Signe…
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When to Use A Nonparametric Test

  • Nonparametric tests are sometimes called distribution-free tests because they are based on fewer assumptions (e.g., they do not assume that the outcome is approximately normally distributed). Parametric tests involve specific probability distributions (e.g., the normal distribution) and the tests involve estimation of the key parameters of that dis...
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Introduction to Nonparametric Testing

  • This module will describe some popular nonparametric tests for continuous outcomes. Interested readers should see Conover3for a more comprehensive coverage of nonparametric tests. The techniques described here apply to outcomes that are ordinal, ranked, or continuous outcome variables that are not normally distributed. Recall that continuous outcomes are quantitative me…
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Assigning Ranks

  • The nonparametric procedures that we describe here follow the same general procedure. The outcome variable (ordinal, interval or continuous) is ranked from lowest to highest and the analysis focuses on the ranks as opposed to the measured or raw values. For example, suppose we measure self-reported pain using a visual analog scale with anchors at 0 (no pain) and 10 (a…
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Mann Whitney U Test

  • The modules on hypothesis testing presented techniques for testing the equality of means in two independent samples. An underlying assumption for appropriate use of the tests described was that the continuous outcome was approximately normally distributed or that the samples were sufficiently large (usually n1> 30 and n2>30) to justify their use based on the Central Limit Theor…
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Tests with Matched Samples

  • This section describes nonparametric tests to compare two groups with respect to a continuous outcome when the data are collected on matched or paired samples. The parametric procedure for doing this was presented in the modules on hypothesis testing for the situation in which the continuous outcome was normally distributed. This section describes procedures that should b…
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The Sign Test

  • The Sign Test is the simplest nonparametric test for matched or paired data. The approach is to analyze only the signs of the difference scores, as shown below: If the null hypothesis is true (i.e., if the median difference is zero) then we expect to see approximately half of the differences as positive and half of the differences as negative. If the research hypothesis is true, we expect to s…
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Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test

  • Another popular nonparametric test for matched or paired data is called the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test. Like the Sign Test, it is based on difference scores, but in addition to analyzing the signs of the differences, it also takes into account the magnitude of the observed differences. Let's use the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test to re-analyze the data in Example 4 on page 5 of this m…
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Tests with More Than Two Independent Samples

  • In the modules on hypothesis testing we presented techniques for testing the equality of means in more than two independent samples using analysis of variance (ANOVA). An underlying assumption for appropriate use of ANOVA was that the continuous outcome was approximately normally distributed or that the samples were sufficiently large (usually nj> 30, where j=1, 2, ..., k …
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