The Analysis Factor
Statistical Consulting, Resources, and Statistics Workshops for Researchers
Just about everyone who does any data analysis has used a chi-square test. Probably because there are quite a few of them, and they’re all useful.
But it gets confusing because very often you’ll just hear them called “Chi-Square test” without their full, formal name. And without that context, it’s hard to tell exactly what hypothesis that test is testing. [Read more…] about What is a Chi-Square Test?
Lest you believe that odds ratios are merely the domain of logistic regression, I’m here to tell you it’s not true.
One of the simplest ways to calculate an odds ratio is from a cross tabulation table.
We usually analyze these tables with a categorical statistical test. There are a few options, depending on the sample size and the design, but common ones are Chi-Square test of independence or homogeneity, or a Fisher’s exact test.
Ever hear this rule of thumb: “The Chi-Square test is invalid if we have fewer than 5 observations in a cell”.
I frequently hear this mis-understood and incorrect “rule.”
We all want rules of thumb even though we know they can be wrong, misleading, or misinterpreted.
Rules of Thumb are like Urban Myths or like a bad game of ‘Telephone’. The actual message gets totally distorted over time.
[Read more…] about Chi-Square Test of Independence Rule of Thumb: n > 5
In the world of statistical analyses, there are many tests and methods that for categorical data. Many become extremely complex, especially as the number of variables increases. But sometimes we need an analysis for only one or two categorical variables at a time. When that is the case, one of these seven fundamental tests may come in handy.
These tests apply to nominal data (categories with no order to them) and a few can apply to other types of data as well. They allow us to test for goodness of fit, independence, or homogeneity—and yes, we will discuss the difference! Whether these tests are new to you, or you need a good refresher, this training will help you understand how they work and when each is appropriate to use.
[Read more…] about Member Training: Seven Fundamental Tests for Categorical Data
You may have heard of McNemar tests as a repeated measures version of a chi-square test of independence. This is basically true, and I wanted to show you how these two tests differ and what exactly, each one is testing.
First of all, although Chi-Square tests can be used for larger tables, McNemar tests can only be used for a 2×2 table. So we’re going to restrict the comparison to 2×2 tables. [Read more…] about The Difference Between a Chi-Square Test and a McNemar Test
by Annette Gerritsen, Ph.D.
In an earlier article I discussed how to do a cross-tabulation in SPSS. But what if you do not have a data set with the values of the two variables of interest?
For example, if you do a critical appraisal of a published study and only have proportions and denominators.
In this article it will be demonstrated how SPSS can come up with a cross table and do a Chi-square test in both situations. And you will see that the results are exactly the same.
If you want to test if there is an association between two nominal variables, you do a Chi-square test.
In SPSS you just indicate that one variable (the independent one) should come in the row, [Read more…] about How to do a Chi-square test when you only have proportions and denominators