title: Which is the correct statistical test to use?
abstract: This paper explains how to select the correct statistical test for a research project, clinical trial, or other investigation. The first step is to decide in what scale of measurement your data are as this will affect your decision-nominal, ordinal, or interval. The next stage is to consider the purpose of the analysis-for example, are you comparing independent or paired groups? Several statistical tests are discussed with an explanation of when it is appropriate to use each one; relevant examples of each are provided. If an incorrect test is used, then invalid results and misleading conclusions may be drawn from the study.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, Health & Rehabilitation Sciences Research Institute, University of Ulster, Shore Road, Newtownabbey BT37 0QB, United Kingdom. ee.gardner@ulster.ac.uk
authors.forename: Evie
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: McCrum-Gardner
mesh_terms: D012107:Research Design; D016008:Statistical Distributions; D013223:Statistics as Topic