8. Testing Differences Between Means: The Basics
One typical use of inferential statistics is to test the likelihood that the difference between the means of two groups is due to chance. Several situations call for this sort of analysis, but they all share the name t-test.
You’ll find as many reasons to run t-tests as you have groups to contrast. For example, in different disciplines you might want to make these comparisons:
• Business—The mean profit margins of two product lines.
• Medicine—The effects of different cardiovascular exercise routines on the mean blood pressure of two groups of patients.
• Economics—The mean salaries earned by men and ...
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