One-Sample t-Test

The One-Sample t-Test is used to compare a sample to a population when the

population mean is already known.
Due to the way that the critical region is found (using degrees of freedom), the one-
sample t-test is more accurate than the z-test. Because of this, it is utilized more
frequently than the z-test.
Degrees of Freedom:
o The t-distribution changes shape based on the number of degrees of freedom
(i.e., the ability of a number in a given set to assume any value).
o In a t-distribution, the degrees of freedom (df) is n 1.
t = (M )

One-Sample tTest in SPSS

1. Click on the Analyze drop down menu.
2. Highlight Compare Means.
3. Click on One Sample t-Test.
 4. Move the single variable over that you wish to compare to the mean.
5. Enter the test value (the mean from the population that you are comparing it to).

6. Click OK.
7. Analyze the output:
a. The output will consist of two boxes. The first will contain descriptives only.

One-Sample Statistics

N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean

YearsOfEducation 25 14.4000 4.08248 .81650

 b. The second box contains the following:
i. First column is t-value (distance of your mean from the pop. mean).
ii. Degrees of freedom is in the second column.
iii. Significance level is in the third column. If the number is less than your
predetermined alpha level (usually .05), reject the null hypothesis. This
means the sample mean is significantly different than the population
mean. If it is more than your predetermined alpha level, accept the null
hypothesis there is no significant difference.

One-Sample Test

Test Value = 12
t df Sig. (2-tailed) Mean Difference 95% Confidence Interval of the
Difference

Lower Upper

YearsOfEducation 2.939 24 .007 2.40000 .7148 4.0852