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 Statistical tests: which one should you use?

Choosing the Right Statistical Test | Types

and Examples
Published on
January 28, 2020
by
Rebecca Bevans.
Revised on
September 16, 2021.

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.

Statistical tests flowchart

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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.

When to perform a statistical test

You can perform statistical tests on data that have been collected in a statistically valid
manner – either through an experiment, or through observations made using probability
sampling methods.
 For a statistical test to be valid, your sample size needs to be large enough to approximate
the true distribution of the population being studied.
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To determine which statistical test to use, you need to know:

whether your data meets certain assumptions.

the types of variables that you’re dealing with.

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:
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Continuous (a.k.a ratio variables): represent measures and can usually be divided
into units smaller than one (e.g. 0.75 grams).
Discrete (a.k.a 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.

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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 Outcome Research question example

variable variable
 Predictor Outcome Research question example
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Simple linear Continuous Continuous What is the effect of income on

regression 1 predictor 1 outcome longevity?

Multiple Continuous Continuous What is the effect of income and

linear 2 or more 1 outcome minutes of exercise per day on
regression predictors longevity?

Logistic Continuous Binary What is the effect of drug dosage

regression on 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 Outcome Research question example

variable variable

Paired t-test Categorical Quantitative What is the effect of two different

1 predictor groups test prep programs on the average
come from exam scores for students from the
the same same class?
population
 Predictor Outcome Research question example
 Table of contents variable variable

Independent Categorical Quantitative What is the difference in average

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

ANOVA Categorical Quantitative What is the difference in average

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

MANOVA Categorical Quantitative What is the effect of flower species

1 or more 2 or more on petal length, petal width, and
predictor outcome 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
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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 Categorical Quantitative Independent

test 2 groups groups come from t-test
different populations

Wilcoxon Signed-rank Categorical Quantitative Paired t-test

test 2 groups groups come from the
same population
 Flowchart: choosing a statistical test
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This flowchart helps you choose among parametric tests. For nonparametric alternatives,
check the table above.
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 Frequently asked questions about statistical tests
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What are the main assumptions of statistical tests? 

What is a test statistic? 

What is statistical significance? 

What is the difference between quantitative and categorical variables? 

What is the difference between discrete and continuous variables? 

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Rebecca Bevans
Rebecca is working on her PhD in soil ecology and spends her free time
writing. She's very happy to be able to nerd out about statistics with all of you.
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