Jim Clark wrote: >Do the t-test that Christopher Greene originally suggested. The >idea that ordinal data cannot be used for such analyses is a myth >in many (most?) people's minds.
True. The numbers don't know where they came from and the statistical procedures don't ask (or care). The problem is in the interpretation of the results. Suppose "problems in school" is measured on a 5 point scale (0=none; 5=serious). The mean for one group is 2.3. This might be taken to imply that the typical student has a moderate number (or severity) of problems in school. However, although large numbers of students might have no problems in school there might be enough students in the sample with serious problems to distort the value of the mean. A Chi-square analysis would not lead you into this incorrect interpretation. Claudia ________________________________________________________ Claudia J. Stanny, Ph.D. Associate Professor General Track Coordinator Department of Psychology University of West Florida Pensacola, FL 32514 - 5751 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web Site: http://uwf.edu/cstanny/website/index.htm Phone: (850) 474 - 3163 FAX: (850) 857 - 6060 --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
