T test as a parametric statistic

Abstract

In statistic tests, the probability distribution of the statistics is important. When samples are drawn from population N (µ, σ2) with a sample size of n, the distribution of the sample mean X̄ should be a normal distribution N (µ, σ2/n). Under the null hypothesis µ = µ0, the distribution of statistics z=X¯-µ0σ/n should be standardized as a normal distribution. When the variance of the population is not known, replacement with the sample variance s2 is possible. In this case, the statistics X¯-µ0s/n follows a t distribution (n-1 degrees of freedom). An independent-group t test can be carried out for a comparison of means between two independent groups, with a paired t test for paired data. As the t test is a parametric test, samples should meet certain preconditions, such as normality, equal variances and independence.

Keywords

• biostatistics
• matched-pair analysis
• normal distribution
• probability