TYBA SEM V
INFERENTIAL STATISTICS
Inferential statistics involves the use of a sample (1) to
estimate some characteristic in a large population; and (2) to
test a research hypothesis about a given population. To
appropriately estimate a population characteristic, or
parameter, a random and unbiased sample must be drawn
from the population of interest.
A z-test is a statistical test used to determine whether two
population means are different when the variances are known
and the sample size is large. It can also be used to compare
one mean to a hypothesized value. The data must
approximately fit a normal distribution, otherwise the test
doesn't work.
Z-Test
Contents1 z-tests - Population variance known1.1 Two
sample z-tests2 The z-Table3 Worked Example4 Test
Yourself5 See Also
This is a subject-specific page for Psychology students.
z-tests - Population variance known
z-tests are a statistical way of testing a hypothesis, when
we know the population variance σ2. We use them when we
wish to compare the sample mean μ to the population
mean μ0. However, if your sample size is large, n≥30n≥30,
then you can still use z-tests without knowing the population
variance. Instead, you may use the sample variance as an
estimate of the population variance.
These are some conditions for using this type of test:
The data must be normally distributed.
All data points must be independent.
For each sample the variances must be equal.
An example: You want to test the results of a group
of 2020 children's average IQ scores against some national
data to see if there is a difference. The national data is
normally distributed with known variance. A large number of
pupils in a school have taken the test and in order to save time
she decides to take a random sample of her pupils' results. She
calculates the sample mean and then uses a z-test to see if
there is any significant difference between the sample mean
and the national mean. In this case, the null hypothesis would
be that there is no significant difference, and the z-test is used
to see if this is the case or if could it be rejected i.e. there is
strong evidence that the means differ.
The z-test statistic is calculated using the following formula:
GP- means general practitioner
What is z-test?
Statistical method for the comparison of mean in a sample from the normally
distributed population or between two independent samples
Or
Statistical test to validate the hypothesis (accept or reject) when the data is
normally distributed.
z-test is used when:
Population variance is unknown
Sample size is greater than 30
Types of z-test:
Z-test is mainly classified into 2 types:
One Sample
Two Sample
One-Sample
The one-sample test is used when we have to compare a sample mean
with the population mean.
The region of rejection is located either extreme left or extreme right of
the distribution
i.e. if any null hypothesis: Sample mean is 2
Then, its Alternate hypothesis: Sample mean is either greater or less than 2
in this case, the rejection region will be on the left side of the distribution
in this case, the rejection region will be on the left side of the distribution
Note: For the left tailed test, the claimed mean sample value for the null
hypothesis will be less than or equal to the mean population value.
or
In this case, the rejection region will be on the right side of the distribution.
Note: For the right-tailed test, the claimed mean sample value for the null
hypothesis will be
greater than or equal to the mean population value.
Mathematical Formula:
z-test Example
A gym trainer claimed that all the new boys in the gym are above average
weight.
A random sample of thirty boys weight have a mean score of 112.5 kg and
the population mean weight is 100 kg and the standard deviation is 15.
Is there a sufficient evidence to support the claim of gym trainer.
Two-Sample:
A two-sample test is used when we have to compare the mean of two
samples.
The region of rejection is located on both the extreme (left and right) of
the distribution
i.e. if any null hypothesis: Sample mean is 2
Then, its Alternate hypothesis: Sample mean is not equal to 2
Note: For two sample test, the claimed value for the null hypothesis will be
equal to mean population value.
Mathematical Formula:
Let’s understand the two-sample z-test by an example:
Problem Statement:
Random samples of 75 males and 50 female’s donors yields mean
concentration of 28 and 33 ppm respectively. The amount of trace elements
in blood varies with the standard deviation 14.1 and 9.5 ppm respectively for
males and females. What is the likelihood that the population means of
concentration of elements are the same for men and women.
REMARK:
Z-test is a statistically significant test for the hypothesis testing (null and
alternative hypotheses) when the sample size is large, and the population
parameter (mean and variance) is known.
A z-test is used to test a Null Hypothesis if the population variance is known, or if the sample size is
larger than 30, for an unknown population variance.
A t-test is used when the sample size is less than 30 and the population variance is unknown.
