Choosing the Right Statistical Test | Types &

Examples

Rebecca Bevans

Published on January 28, 2020 by Rebecca Bevans. Revised on June 22, 2023.

Statistical tests are used in hypothesis testing. They can be used to:

• determine whether a predictor variable has a statistically significant relationship with an

outcome variable.
• estimate the difference between two or more groups.

Statistical tests assume a null hypothesis of no relationship or no difference between groups.

Then they determine whether the observed data fall outside of the range of values predicted by
the null hypothesis.

If you already know what types of variables you’re dealing with, you can use the flowchart to
choose the right statistical test for your data.

Statistical tests flowchart

Table of contents
1. What does a statistical test do?
2. When to perform a statistical test
3. Choosing a parametric test: regression, comparison, or correlation
4. Choosing a nonparametric test
5. Flowchart: choosing a statistical test
6. Other interesting articles
7. Frequently asked questions about statistical tests

What does a statistical test do?

Statistical tests work by calculating a test statistic – a number that describes how much the
relationship between variables in your test differs from the null hypothesis of no relationship.

It then calculates a p value (probability value). The p-value estimates how likely it is that you
would see the difference described by the test statistic if the null hypothesis of no relationship
were true.

If the value of the test statistic is more extreme than the statistic calculated from the null
hypothesis, then you can infer a statistically significant relationship between the predictor
and outcome variables.

If the value of the test statistic is less extreme than the one calculated from the null hypothesis,
then you can infer no statistically significant relationship between the predictor and
outcome variables.

When to perform a statistical test

You can perform statistical tests on data that have been collected in a statistically valid manner –
either through an experiment, or through observations made using probability sampling
methods.

For a statistical test to be valid, your sample size needs to be large enough to approximate the
true distribution of the population being studied.

To determine which statistical test to use, you need to know:

• whether your data meets certain assumptions.

• the types of variables that you’re dealing with.

Statistical assumptions
Statistical tests make some common assumptions about the data they are testing:

1. Independence of observations (a.k.a. no autocorrelation): The observations/variables

you include in your test are not related (for example, multiple measurements of a single
test subject are not independent, while measurements of multiple different test subjects
are independent).
2. Homogeneity of variance: the variance within each group being compared is similar
among all groups. If one group has much more variation than others, it will limit the test’s
effectiveness.
3. Normality of data: the data follows a normal distribution (a.k.a. a bell curve). This
assumption applies only to quantitative data.

If your data do not meet the assumptions of normality or homogeneity of variance, you may be
able to perform a nonparametric statistical test, which allows you to make comparisons
without any assumptions about the data distribution.

If your data do not meet the assumption of independence of observations, you may be able to use
a test that accounts for structure in your data (repeated-measures tests or tests that include
blocking variables).

Types of variables
The types of variables you have usually determine what type of statistical test you can use.

Quantitative variables represent amounts of things (e.g. the number of trees in a forest).
Types of quantitative variables include:

• Continuous (aka ratio variables): represent measures and can usually be divided into
units smaller than one (e.g. 0.75 grams).
• Discrete (aka integer variables): represent counts and usually can’t be divided into units
smaller than one (e.g. 1 tree).

Categorical variables represent groupings of things (e.g. the different tree species in a forest).
Types of categorical variables include:

• Ordinal: represent data with an order (e.g. rankings).

• Nominal: represent group names (e.g. brands or species names).
• Binary: represent data with a yes/no or 1/0 outcome (e.g. win or lose).

Choose the test that fits the types of predictor and outcome variables you have collected (if you
are doing an experiment, these are the independent and dependent variables). Consult the tables
below to see which test best matches your variables.
Choosing a parametric test: regression, comparison, or
correlation
Parametric tests usually have stricter requirements than nonparametric tests, and are able to
make stronger inferences from the data. They can only be conducted with data that adheres to
the common assumptions of statistical tests.

The most common types of parametric test include regression tests, comparison tests, and
correlation tests.

Regression tests
Regression tests look for cause-and-effect relationships. They can be used to estimate the
effect of one or more continuous variables on another variable.

Predictor Outcome
Research question example
variable variable
• Continuous • Continuous
Simple linear What is the effect of income on
regression • 1 predictor • 1 outcome longevity?

• Continuous
• Continuous What is the effect of income and
Multiple linear • 2 or more
regression • 1 outcome minutes of exercise per day on
predictors longevity?
Logistic • Continuous • Binary What is the effect of drug dosage
regression on the survival of a test subject?

Comparison tests
Comparison tests look for differences among group means. They can be used to test the
effect of a categorical variable on the mean value of some other characteristic.

T-tests are used when comparing the means of precisely two groups (e.g., the average heights of
men and women). ANOVA and MANOVA tests are used when comparing the means of more
than two groups (e.g., the average heights of children, teenagers, and adults).

Predictor
Outcome variable Research question example
variable
• Quantitative
What is the effect of two different
• Categorical • groups come from test prep programs on the average
Paired t-test • 1 predictor the same exam scores for students from the
population same class?

• Quantitative
Independent
• Categorical • groups come from What is the difference in average
• 1 predictor different exam scores for students from two
t-test
populations different schools?

• Categorical What is the difference in average

• Quantitative
• 1 or more pain levels among post-surgical
ANOVA • 1 outcome
predictor patients given three different
painkillers?
 Predictor
Outcome variable Research question example
variable
• Categorical • Quantitative
What is the effect of flower species
MANOVA • 1 or more • 2 or more on petal length, petal width, and
predictor outcome stem length?

Correlation tests
Correlation tests check whether variables are related without hypothesizing a cause-and-
effect relationship.

These can be used to test whether two variables you want to use in (for example) a multiple
regression test are autocorrelated.

Variables Research question example

Pearson’s r • 2 continuous variables How are latitude and temperature related?

Choosing a nonparametric test

Non-parametric tests don’t make as many assumptions about the data, and are useful when one
or more of the common statistical assumptions are violated. However, the inferences they make
aren’t as strong as with parametric tests.

Predictor Use in place

Outcome variable
variable of…
Spearman’s r • Quantitative • Quantitative Pearson’s r
Chi square test of • Categorical • Categorical Pearson’s r
independence
• Categorical • Quantitative One-sample t-
Sign test
test
• Categorical
Kruskal–Wallis H • 3 or more • Quantitative ANOVA
groups

• Categorical • Quantitative
ANOSIM • 3 or more • 2 or more outcome MANOVA
groups variables

• Quantitative
• Categorical
Wilcoxon Rank-Sum • groups come from Independent t-
test • 2 groups test
different populations

• Quantitative
• Categorical
Wilcoxon Signed-rank • groups come from the
• 2 groups Paired t-test
test same population

Flowchart: choosing a statistical test

This flowchart helps you choose among parametric tests. For nonparametric alternatives, check
the table above.

Other interesting articles

If you want to know more about statistics, methodology, or research bias, make sure to check out
some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

Statistics

• Normal distribution
• Kurtosis
• Descriptive statistics
• Measures of central tendency
• Correlation coefficient
• Null hypothesis

Frequently asked questions about statistical tests

What is statistical significance?

Statistical significance is a term used by researchers to state that it is unlikely their

observations could have occurred under the null hypothesis of a statistical test.
Significance is usually denoted by a p-value, or probability value.

Statistical significance is arbitrary – it depends on the threshold, or alpha value, chosen by

the researcher. The most common threshold is p < 0.05, which means that the data is
likely to occur less than 5% of the time under the null hypothesis.

When the p-value falls below the chosen alpha value, then we say the result of the test is
statistically significant.

What is the difference between quantitative and categorical variables?

Quantitative variables are any variables where the data represent amounts (e.g. height,
weight, or age).

Categorical variables are any variables where the data represent groups. This includes
rankings (e.g. finishing places in a race), classifications (e.g. brands of cereal), and binary
outcomes (e.g. coin flips).

You need to know what type of variables you are working with to choose the right
statistical test for your data and interpret your results.

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