Types of Inferential Statistics

Inferential Statistics: estimate the value of a population

parameter from the characteristics of a sample
Parametric Statistics:
Assumes the values in a sample
are normally distributed
Interval/Ratio level data required

Nonparametric Statistics:
No assumptions about the underlying
distribution of the sample
Used when the data do not meet the
assumption for a nonparametric test
(ordinal and nominal data)

Choosing Statistical Procedures

Mann Whitney U Test

Nonparametric equivalent
of the independent t test
Two independent groups
Ordinal measurement of the
DV
The sampling distribution of
U is known and is used to
test hypotheses in the same
way as the t distribution.

Mann Whitney U Test

To compute the Mann
Whitney U:
Rank the scores in both
groups (together) from
highest to lowest.
Sum the ranks of the
scores for each group.
The sum of ranks for
each group are used to
make the statistical
comparison.

Non-Directional Hypotheses
Null Hypothesis: There is no
difference in scores of the two
groups (i.e. the sum of ranks for
group 1 is no different than the
sum of ranks for group 2).
Alternative Hypothesis: There is a
difference between the scores of
the two groups (i.e. the sum of
ranks for group 1 is significantly
different from the sum of ranks for
group 2).

Computing the Mann Whitney U Using

SPSS
Enter data into SPSS spreadsheet; two columns
1st column: groups; 2nd column: scores (ratings)
Analyze Nonparametric 2 Independent
Samples
Select the independent variable and move it to the
Grouping Variable box Click Define Groups
Enter 1 for group 1 and 2 for group 2
Select the dependent variable and move it to the
Test Variable box Make sure Mann Whitney is
selected Click OK

Interpreting the Output

Ranks
Equal Rights Attitudes

Income Status
Income Producing
No Income
Total

N
10
10
20

Mean Rank
12.50
8.50

Sum of Ranks
125.00
85.00

Test Statisticsb

Mann-Whitney U
Wilcoxon W
Z
Asymp. Sig. (2-tailed)
Exact Sig. [2*(1-tailed
Sig.)]

Equal Rights
Attitudes
30.000
85.000
-1.512
.131
a

.143

a. Not corrected for ties.

b. Grouping Variable: Income Status

The output provides a z

score equivalent of the
Mann Whitney U statistic.
It also gives significance
levels for both a onetailed and a two-tailed
hypothesis.

Generating Descriptives for Both Groups

Analyze Descriptive
Statistics Explore
Independent variable
Factors box
Dependent variable
Dependent box
Click Statistics Make sure
Descriptives is checked
Click OK

Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test

Nonparametric equivalent of
the dependent (pairedsamples) t test
Two dependent groups
(within design)
Ordinal level measurement of
the DV.
The test statistic is T, and the
sampling distribution is the T
distribution.

Wilcoxon Test
To compute the Wilcoxon T:
Determine the differences
between scores.
Rank the absolute values of the
differences.
Place the appropriate sign with
the rank (each rank retains the
positive or negative value of its
corresponding difference)
T = the sum of the ranks with
the less frequent sign

Non-Directional Hypotheses
Null Hypothesis: There is no
difference in scores before and
after an intervention (i.e. the sums
of the positive and negative ranks
will be similar).
Non-Directional Research
Hypothesis: There is a difference
in scores before and after an
intervention (i.e. the sums of the
positive and negative ranks will be
different).

Computing the Wilcoxon Test Using SPSS

Enter data into SPSS spreadsheet; two columns 1st
column: pretest scores; 2nd column: posttest scores
Analyze Nonparametric 2 Related Samples
Highlight both variables move to the Test Pair(s) List
Click OK
To Generate Descriptives:
Analyze Descriptive Statistics Explore
Both variables go in the Dependent box
Click Statistics Make sure Descriptives is checked
Click OK

Interpreting the Output

Ranks
N
POSTTEST - PRETEST Negative Ranks
Positive Ranks
Ties
Total

10a
2b
0c
12

Mean Rank
7.40
2.00

Sum of Ranks
74.00
4.00

a. POSTTEST < PRETEST

b. POSTTEST > PRETEST
c. POSTTEST = PRETEST
Test Statisticsb

Z
Asymp. Sig. (2-tailed)

POSTTEST PRETEST
-2.746a
.006

a. Based on positive ranks.

b. Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test

The T test statistic is the sum

of the ranks with the less
frequent sign.
The output provides the
equivalent z score for the test
statistic.
Two-Tailed significance is
given.