title: The use and interpretation of the Friedman test in the analysis of ordinal-scale data in repeated measures designs.
abstract: The purpose of this paper is to review the use and interpretation of the Friedman two-way analysis of variance by ranks test for ordinal-level data in repeated measurement designs. Physical therapists frequently make three or more repeated measurements of the same individual to compare different treatments, or to assess the effect of a single treatment over time. When the measurements are ordinal-scaled, such as some ratings of functional status and muscle strength, statistical significance may be determined by the Friedman test. We illustrate the use of the Friedman test and a post hoc multiple comparison test with data from 27 subjects whose performance on a lifting task was rated on three occasions by use of an ordinal scale. We discuss the interpretation of ordinal-level data and recommend that therapists understand the limitations a measurement scale imposes on the inferences that can be made from these tests.
authors.affiliation: University of New England, Biddeford, Maine, USA. MSheldon@Mailbox.UNE.EDU
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Sheldon
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Fillyaw
authors.forename: W D
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Thompson
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D015982:Bias; D002648:Child; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D006801:Humans; D017770:Lifting; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012107:Research Design; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric