"Andrew L." wrote:
>
> I am trying to learn what a t-test will actually tell me, in simple terms.
> Dennis Roberts and Paige Miller, have helped alot, but i still dont quite
> understand the significance.
>
> Andy L
A t-test compares a mean to a specific value...or two means to each
other...
The reason we do this, if you are comparing two means, for example, is
if you get mean of group A is 6.75 and mean of group B is 6.8, we
really want to know if this difference is significant -- which is
another way of saying is it likely that these two mean values arise
purely out of random chance? This is a "layman's" way of describing
the t-test. The actual proper statistical description can be found in
numerous textbooks.
There are some assumptions being made in order to do this ... usually
the data is identically normally and independently distributed ...
approximately normal is usually okay
--
Paige Miller
Eastman Kodak Company
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
"It's nothing until I call it!" -- Bill Klem, NL Umpire
"Those black-eyed peas tasted all right to me" -- Dixie Chicks
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