T-tests are used to compare two means to assess whether they are from the same population.

T-
tests presume that both groups are normally distributed and have relatively equal variances. The
t-statistic is distributed on a curve that is based on the number of degrees of freedom (df). There
are three kinds of t-tests: independent-samples, paired-samples, and one-sample. t-test is used to
compare two samples to determine if they came from the same population. Whenever we draw a
sample from the population, we can reasonably expect that the sample mean will deviate from
the population mean a little bit. So, if we were to take a sample of guys, and a sample of gals, we
would not expect them to have exactly the same mean and standard deviation

A paired t-test is used to compare two population means where you have two samples in which
observations in one sample can be paired with observations in the other sample. Examples of
where this might occur are: • Before-and-after observations on the same subjects (e.g. students’
diagnostic test results before and after a particular module or course). • A comparison of two
different methods of measurement or two different treatments where the
measurements/treatments are applied to the same subjects (e.g. blood pressure measurements
using a stethoscope and a dynamap).

The simplest way to carry out a paired t-test in SPSS is to compute the differences (using
Transform, Compute) and then carrying out a one-sample t-test as follows: — Analyze —
Compare Means — One-Sample T Test — Choose the difference variable as the Test Variable
and click OK The output will look like this: One-Sample Statistics N Mean Std. Deviation Std.
Error Mean Difference 20 2.0500 2.83725 .63443 One-Sample Test Test Value = 0 95%
Confidence Interval t df Sig. (2-tailed) Mean Difference Lower Upper Difference 3.231 19 .004
2.0500 .7221 3

Independent Samples T-Test

For example, do men spend the same amount of money on clothing as women? We can't
reasonably ask the entire population of men and women how much they spend. So we'll draw
a sample of men and women. These samples are independent because they don't overlap:
everybody is either man or woman, never both.
Now, sample outcomes tend to differ a bit from population figures. So if the average amount
spent is precisely equal for all men and women, we'll probably still see slightly different means
between our samples. However, very different sample means suggest that the population
means weren't equal after all. A t test tells us if a sample difference is big enough to draw this
conclusion.

 Click Analyze > Compare Means > Independent-Samples T Test... on the top menu,
 Transfer the dependent variable, Cholesterol, into the Test Variable(s): box, and transfer the
independent variable, Treatment, into the Grouping Variable: box, by highlighting the

relevant variables and pressing the buttons. You will end up with the following
screen:
 You then need to define the groups (treatments). Click on the button.
You will be presented with the Define Groupsdialogue box, as shown below:

Published with written permission from SPSS Statistics, IBM Corporation.

 Enter "1" into the Group 1: box and enter "2" into the Group 2: box. Remember that we
labelled the Diet Treatment group as 1 and the Exercise Treatment group as 2.

Note: If you have more than 2 treatment groups in your study (e.g., 3
groups: diet, exercise and drug treatment groups), but only wanted to compared two
 (e.g., the diet and drug treatment groups), you could type in 1 to Group 1: box
and 3 to Group 2:box (i.e., if you wished to compare the diet with drug treatment).

 Click the button.

 If you need to change the confidence level limits or change how to exclude cases, click
the button. You will be presented with the following:

Published with written permission from SPSS Statistics, IBM Corporation.

 Click the button. You will be returned to the Independent-Samples T

Test dialogue box.
 Click the button.