Using a t-test to compare means

These instructions assume that you have already entered your data in 2
columns or in 2 rows, each column (or row) corresponding to one treatment
group.

1. Use the mouse cursor to select an empty cell in which you would like to place
the result of your t-test
2. Then use the mouse cursor to select the Function Wizard (fx on tool bar or
Function on Insert pull-down menu)
3. Under Function Wizard, Step 1 of 2, select the function category Statistical
4. Under the Statistical category select TTEST, then click Next>.
5. This will give you Function Wizard, Step 2 of 2, where you will have 4 boxes
to fill. These boxes are:
o array 1 - the data from the first treatment. Enter the data cells for
treatment 1 from column 1 (or row 1) by typing the cell #s or by
clicking and dragging
o array 2 - the data from the second treatment. Enter the data cells for
treatment 2 in the same way
o tails - enter the number of distribution tails for your analysis. Click for
clarification of the differences between a one-tailed and two-tailed test.
You should enter either "2" if your null hypothesis is that treatment
mean 1 = treatment mean 2 or enter "1" if your null hypothesis is
greater than or equal or less than or equal . For more help with this see
the Basic Statistics for Physiologists. page
o type - in this box enter "1" if you have paired data and want to do a
paired t-test, enter "2" if you have unpaired data and you believe that
the variance is equal in both of your treatment groups, and enter "3" if
you have unpaired data and believe that there is unequal variance in
your treatment groups. If you have questions in this pop-up box just
put your cursor on the line you are unsure about and click on Help to
get direct help on that line
6. When you have entered a value for all of these boxes click on Finish
7. This will place the p value from the t-test into the cell that you previously
selected (Step #1). If the p value is less than 0.05 then you can say that your
treatments are significantly different at the 0.05 level, which is the default
level that we use in biology. This means that you are 95% sure that the
difference in the two treatment means is not due to just random variation but
 to a real biological difference. In this case you would say that you, "reject your
null hypothesis" and "accept the alternate hypothesis."
8. If you came here through the Interactive Walk Through Data Handling via the
Two-Tailed Hypothesis Page, you can say that the means are significantly
different and conclude that your treatment has a significant effect. If you came
via the One Tailed Hypothesis Page, before you can conclude that your means
are significantly different, you must ensure that the mean that you expected to
be greater is the one that is greater (i.e. your alternative hypothesis is correct).
In other words, your t-test may give you a p value that indicates a significant
difference, but if the mean that is greater is not the one that should be greater,
based on your a priori expectation, then there is no significant difference.