A Primer on Foundational Ideas You Must Begin Operating Statistical Exams | by Murtaza Ali | Sep, 2023
Quantitative research design, significance testing, and completely different courses of statistical checks.
I got here to write down this text by what was a predictable but nonetheless sudden set of occasions. I just lately completed a course on statistical testing and reporting, and I got down to write a sequence of articles explaining the small print of essentially the most helpful statistical checks I discovered. I needed to do that each to cement my very own information in addition to assist different knowledge scientists be taught a subject I discovered immensely useful.
The primary of those articles was going to be on the t-test, a standard statistical check used to find out if two means (averages) from completely different units of information are statistically completely different. I started to write down this text, however I spotted I wanted to first clarify that there are two completely different sorts of t-tests. Then, I spotted that to clarify that, I wanted to clarify a separate however associated underlying idea. The cycle continued as I deliberate out the article.
Moreover, I spotted that I would want to do that with every new article I wrote, as each statistical check required the identical underlying information base. Somewhat than repeat this info in every article, it might be a lot better to reference one standing supply of knowledge.
And thus, this text was born. Within the phrases that observe, I’ll try to provide a concise however efficient primer on the fundamental ideas try to be conversant in with the intention to conduct and report statistical checks. To your comfort, I’ve damaged down the ideas within the order you’ll encounter them working a research from begin to end. So with out additional ado, let’s get into it.
Quantitative Research Design
When designing a research, there are a number of vital particulars one wants to think about. This text shouldn’t be about research design, and I gained’t be going into the small print of greatest practices and the reasoning behind them. That mentioned, the design of a research strongly affect the eventual statistical check wanted, and so it’s important to have a primary understanding of the next ideas:
- Elements and measures
- Ranges and coverings