EXPERIMENT 4

Application of Chi-Square Test

Statistical Tests
Introduction
A parametric statistical test is one that makes assumptions about the parameters (defining
properties) of the population distribution(s) from which one's data are drawn.
A non-parametric test is one that makes no such assumptions. In this strict sense, "non-
parametric" is essentially a null category, since virtually all statistical tests assume one thing
or another about the properties of the source population(s).
Which is more powerful?
Non-parametric statistical procedures are less powerful because they use less information in
their calculation. For example, a parametric correlation uses information about the mean and
deviation from the mean while a non-parametric correlation will use only the ordinal position
of pairs of scores.
Parametric Assumptions
 The observations must be independent
 The observations must be drawn from normally distributed populations
 These populations must have the same variances
 The means of these normal and homoscedastic populations must be linear combinations of
effects due to columns and/or rows
Nonparametric Assumptions
Certain assumptions are associated with most nonparametric statistical tests, but these are
fewer and weaker than those of parametric tests.
Advantages of Nonparametric Tests
 Probability statements obtained from most nonparametric statistics are exact probabilities,
regardless of the shape of the population distribution from which the random sample was
drawn
 If sample sizes as small as N=6 are used, there is no alternative to using a nonparametric
test
 Easier to learn and apply than parametric tests
 Based on a model that specifies very general conditions.
 No specific form of the distribution from which the sample was drawn.
 Hence nonparametric tests are also known as distribution free tests.
Disadvantages of nonparametric tests
 Losing precision/wasteful of data
 Low power
 False sense of security
 Lack of software
 Testing distributions only
 Higher-ordered interactions not dealt with
 Parametric models are more efficient if data permit.
 It is difficult to compute by hand for large samples
 Tables are not widely available
 In cases where a parametric test would be appropriate, non-parametric tests have less
power. In other words, a larger sample size can be required to draw conclusions with the
same degree of confidence.
Few points
 The inferences drawn from tests based on the parametric tests such as t, F and Chi-square
may be seriously affected when the parent population’s distribution is not normal.
 The adverse effect could be more when sample size is small.
 Thus when there is doubt about the distribution of the parent population, a nonparametric
method should be used.
 In many situations, particularly in social and behavioural sciences, observations are
difficult or impossible to take on numerical scales and a suitable nonparametric test is an
alternative under such situations.

Level of Measurement

The 4 levels of measurement

1. Nominal or Classificatory Scale
Gender, ethnic background, colors of a spectrum
In research activities a YES/NO scale is nominal. It has no order and there is no
distance between YES and NO.

2. Ordinal or Ranking Scale

Hardness of rocks, beauty, military ranks
The simplest ordinal scale is a ranking.
There is no objective distance between any two points on your subjective scale.
3. Interval Scale
Celsius or Fahrenheit. It is an interval scale because it is assumed to have
equidistant points between each of the scale elements

4. Ratio Scale
Kelvin temperature, speed, height, mass or weight
Ratio data is interval data with a natural zero point

Parametric vs. non-parametric tests Non-parametric

Parametric
Assumed distribution Normal Any
Assumed variance Homogeneous Any
Typical data Ratio or Interval Ordinal or Nominal
Data set relationships Independent Any
Usual central measure Mean Median
Benefits Can draw more Simplicity; Less
conclusions affected by outliers
Tests
Choosing Choosing Choosing a non-
parametric test parametric test
Correlation test Pearson Spearman
Independent measures, 2 Independent- Mann-Whitney test
groups measures t-test
Independent measures, One-way, Kruskal-Wallis test
>2 groups independent-
measures ANOVA
Repeated measures, 2 Matched-pair t-test Wilcoxon test
conditions
Repeated measures, >2 One-way, repeated Friedman's test
conditions measures ANOVA

Table 1: Parametric vs. non-parametric tests

II. Chi-square Test: Tests of relationships between variables

This goodness-of-fit test compares the observed and expected frequencies in each category to test
either that all categories contain the same proportion of values or that each category contains a
user-specified proportion of values. Example: The chi-square test could be used to determine if a
basket of fruit contains equal proportions of apples, bananas, oranges, and peaches.

fruits count
orange 1
orange 1
mango 2
banana 3
lemon 4
banana 3
orange 1
lemon 4
lemon 4
orange 1
 mango 2
banana 3
lemon 4
banana 3
orange 1
lemon 4
lemon 4
Table 2: Data Sets

Table 3: Data View

Table 4: Application of Chi-Square Test
Table 5: Statistical Output of Chi Square Test

Interpretation:

Here p value is 0.560 which is more than 0.05. Hence it is not significant and we fail to reject the null
hypothesis and conclude that there is no significant difference in the proportions of apples, bananas,
oranges, and peaches.

We could also test to see if a basket of fruit contains 10% apples, 20% bananas, 50% oranges, and
20% peaches.

count
Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid 1.00 5 29.4 29.4 29.4
2.00 2 11.8 11.8 41.2
3.00 4 23.5 23.5 64.7
4.00 6 35.3 35.3 100.0
Total 17 100.0 100.0

Table 6: Counts and Percentages

III. Setting up of Cross Tabulation in Chi – Square Test

The chi-square test for independence, also called Pearson's chi-square test or the chi-
square test of association, is used to discover if there is a relationship between two
categorical variables. Assumptions

When you choose to analyse your data using a chi-square test for independence, you need
to make sure that the data you want to analyse "passes" two assumptions. You need to do
this because it is only appropriate to use a chi-square test for independence if your data
passes these two assumptions. If it does not, you cannot use a chi-square test for
independence. These two assumptions are:
o Assumption #1: Your two variables should be measured at an ordinal or nominal
level (i.e., categorical data).
o Assumption #2: Your two variable should consist of two or more
categorical, independent groups. Example independent variables that meet this
criterion include gender (2 groups: Males and Females), ethnicity (e.g., 3 groups:
Caucasian, African American and Hispanic), physical activity level (e.g., 4 groups:
sedentary, low, moderate and high), profession (e.g., 5 groups: surgeon, doctor,
nurse, dentist, therapist), and so forth.

Setup in SPSS Statistics

In SPSS Statistics, we created two variables so that we could enter our data: Gender and
Preferred_Learning_Medium. In our enhanced chi-square test for independence guide, we
show you how to correctly enter data in SPSS Statistics to run a chi-square test for
independence.

Table 7: Analyse option for Cross Tables

Table 8: Crosstabs
Transfer one of the variables into the Row(s): box and the other variable into
the Column(s): box. In our example, we will transfer the Gender variable into
the Row(s): box and Preferred_Learning_Medium into the Column(s): box. There are two
ways to do this. You can either: (1) highlight the variable with your mouse and then use the

relevant   buttons to transfer the variables; or (2) drag-and-drop the variables. How do
you know which variable goes in the row or column box? There is no right or wrong way. It
will depend on how you want to present your data.

If you want to display clustered bar charts (recommended), make sure that Display
clustered bar charts checkbox is ticked.

You will end up with a screen similar to the one below:

Table 9: Row and Colums options

Table 10: Crosstabs Statistics

Table 11:Options in Crosstabs

Table 12:cells in Crosstabs

Table 13: Row and Column percentages
Click the OK button to generate your output.