DEFINITION OF PARAMETRIC TEST

The parametric test is the hypothesis test which provides generalisations for making
statements about the mean of the parent population. A t-test based on Student’s t-statistic,
which is often used in this regard.

The t-statistic rests on the underlying assumption that there is the normal distribution of
variable and the mean is known or assumed to be known. The population variance is
calculated for the sample. It is assumed that the variables of interest, in the population are
measured on an interval scale. In this assignment two types are given t-test i.e. for finding
difference among group mean and regression test i.e. to test cause-and-effect relationships.
Examples are given for the types below respectively.

Predictor variable Outcome variable Research question example

Paired t-test  Categorical  Quantitative What is the effect of two

 1 predictor  Groups come from different test programs on
the same population the mean exam scores for
students from the same class?

Multiple  continuous What is the effect

linear  2 or more  Continuous of income and minutes of
regression predictors  1 outcome exercise Per day on longevity?

DEFINITION OF NON PARAMETRIC TEST

The nonparametric test is defined as the hypothesis test which is not based on underlying
assumptions, i.e. it does not require population’s distribution to be denoted by specific
parameters.

The test is mainly based on differences in medians. Hence, it is alternately known as the
distribution-free test. The test assumes that the variables are measured on a nominal or
ordinal level. It is typically used when the independent variables are non-metric. A type of
non parameter test is the chi-square. An example of a chi square is suppose we have a cross-
sectional study in which we ask a random sample of people whether they think their general
practitioner is doing a good job, on a five point scale, and we wish to ascertain whether
women have a higher opinion of general practitioners than men have. The input variable is
gender, which is nominal. The outcome variable is the five point ordinal scale. Each person's
opinion is independent of the others, so we have independent data.

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 Predictor variable Outcome variable Use in place of

Spearman’s r  Quantitative   Quantitative Pearson’s r

Chi square test of  Categorical   Categorical Pearson’s r

independence

Non-parametric tests are valid for both non-Normally distributed data and normally
distributed data, so why not use them all the time?
It would seem prudent to use non-parametric tests in all cases, which would save one the
bother of testing for normality. Parametric tests are preferred, however, for the following
reasons:
1. We are rarely interested in a significance test alone; we would like to say something about
the population from which the samples came, and this is best done with estimates of
parameters and confidence intervals.
2. It is difficult to do flexible modelling with non-parametric tests, for example allowing for
confounding factors using multiple regression.
3. Parametric tests usually have more statistical power than their non-parametric equivalents.
In other words, one is more likely to detect significant differences when they truly exist.

Key Differences between Parametric and Nonparametric Tests

The fundamental differences between parametric and nonparametric test are discussed in the
following points:

1. A statistical test, in which specific assumptions are made about the population
parameter is known as the parametric test. A statistical test used in the case of non-
metric independent variables is called nonparametric test.
2. In the parametric test, the test statistic is based on distribution. On the other hand, the
test statistic is arbitrary in the case of the nonparametric test.
3. In the parametric test, it is assumed that the measurement of variables of interest is
done on interval or ratio level. As opposed to the nonparametric test, wherein the
variable of interest are measured on nominal or ordinal scale.
4. In general, the measure of central tendency in the parametric test is mean, while in the
case of the nonparametric test is median.
5. In the parametric test, there is complete information about the population. Conversely,
in the nonparametric test, there is no information about the population.
6. The applicability of parametric test is for variables only, whereas nonparametric test
applies to both variables and attributes.
7. For measuring the degree of association between two quantitative variables, Pearson’s
coefficient of correlation is used in the parametric test, while spearman’s rank
correlation is used in the nonparametric test.

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Hypothesis Tests Hierarchy

Choice of statistical test for independent observations

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CONSTRUCTS

Constructs are mental abstractions that we used to express

the ideas, people, organisations, events and/or objects/things that we are interested in.
Constructs are a way of bringing theory down to earth, helping to explain the different
components of theories, as well as measure/observe their behaviour. The table below
provides some examples of these different types of constructs:

Types of constructs Examples

Ideas Ageism, sexism, racism, self-esteem, poverty, social capital, trust,
philanthropy, affluence, morality, tolerance, air pollution, genetic
engineering, euthanasia, marriage, taboos
People Age, gender, ethnicity, height, obesity, morbidity, energy, muscle
soreness, fatigue
Organisations Financial performance, corporate social responsibility, firm
survival, organisational culture, service quality, corporate
governance, outsourcing, alliances
Events Armageddon, famine, urban regeneration, Jihad, secularism
Objects/Things Sun, hurricanes, tsunamis, trees, flowers, amino acids, stem cells

The examples above highlight a desire to capture what we mean about something through the
use of just a few words (often only one or two words). Take the following examples:

The meaning we are trying to convey Construct

Prejudice or discrimination on the grounds of a person's age Ageism
The problem of obesity - the state of being grossly fat or overweight - Child
among children obesity
The formal union of a man and a woman, typically recognized by law, by Marriage
which they become husband and wife
Extreme scarcity of food Famine
The painless killing of a patient suffering from an incurable and painful Euthanasia
disease or in an irreversible coma
A long, high sea wave caused by an earthquake or other disturbance Tsunami

NOTE: Definitions are verbatim from Oxford Dictionaries (www.oxforddictionaries.com), a

great online resource.

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We often refer to constructs as mental abstractions because seldom are constructs directly
observable (e.g., we cannot directly observe depression, even though we may associate
depression with signs such as a person that often cries, engages in self-harm, has mood
swings, and so forth). Since constructs are very broad and abstract, conceptual clarity has
become one of the cornerstones of good research.

Constructs vary significantly in their complexity. By complexity, we mean the relative

difficulty that people have understanding and measuring (i.e., observing) various constructs.
Some constructs can be very easy to understand/measure (e.g., age, gender, ethnicity, height),
but others are more difficult/complex (e.g., ageism, sexism, racism, self-esteem). Take the
following examples:

 Easy to understand and measure: We know that the construct, sex, has just
two attributes in humans: male and female. If we choose to include the construct, sex,
in our research, this would be relatively easy to justify. After all, most people would
associate the construct, sex, as referring to males or females.

 More difficult to understand and measure: Some constructs that we think we

understand, and that we think the reader will understand, can be more complex than
we first thought. For example, take gender. You often see students include the
construct, gender, in questionnaires, giving respondents just two options
(i.e., male and female). This is because the constructs of sex and gender are often used
interchangeably. But social scientists would argue that gender is a more complex
construct, including additional attributes to just male and female; perhaps
including bisexual, homosexual, transsexual, and so forth. In reality, a significant
proportion of constructs are of the more complex type.

This difference in complexity raises two issues: (1) the need to explain to the reader what you
mean when you use a particular construct; and (2) the fact that a construct can have more
than one meaning, highlighting the importance of explaining what the construct means to
you.

Expressing the meaning of constructs using theoretical or nominal definitions

Constructs provide a common language and shared meaning that help us to communicate

about things clearly and precisely. Imagine a discussion about marriage, having to explain
term such as  divorce, civil
partnerships, love, sex, intimacy, religion, sanctity, cohabitation, engagement, and so forth.

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Imagine a debate about famine, without knowing the meaning of other constructs such
as starvation, drought, poverty, disaster relief, food supply, survival, nutrition, aid, and so
forth. Without a clear and precise way of explaining what these constructs mean, we would
struggle to communicate to our audience.

Constructs often lack clarity and precision; they are ambiguous. However, constructs need to

be expressed (i.e., made explicit) in a way that is clear, precise, and non-ambiguous, so that
they can be shared (i.e., researchers, but also participants, must have a common
understanding; that is, “speak the same language”, but also reach the same meaning). Also,
constructs need to be made explicit so that they can (a) be criticised, (b) related to other
constructs, (c) operationally defined, and (d) tested (i.e., they are measurable).

As a result, theoretical or nominal definitions are used to provide conceptual clarity,

using synonyms to express the construct we are interested in. These theoretical or nominal
definitions can be found (a) in academic journals (usually the Abstract/Introduction/Literature
Review; often early on); (b) in subject specific or standard dictionaries; or (c) created
specifically where none exist. Constructs can be expressed using words (e.g., marriage,
depression, hurricanes) or symbolic notations (e.g., % to denote percentages, µ to denote
the mean). Constructs are also often defined in terms of other constructs (e.g., the
construct, famine, which can be defined as "extreme scarcity of food", has been defined in
terms of two other constructs, scarcity and food). However, some constructs (e.g., colours,
smells, sounds) are more difficult to explain in this way; instead needing to be explained
through direct experiences/sense. Some example theoretical and nominal definitions are
presented in the table below:

Construct Theoretical or nominal definitions

Ageism A process of systematic stereotyping of and discrimination against
people because they are old, just as racism and sexism accomplish this
for skin colour and gender"
Euthanasia The painless killing of a patient suffering from an incurable and painful
disease or in an irreversible coma
Social capital The sum of the actual and potential resources embedded within,
available through, and derived from the network of relationships
possessed by an individual or social unit

Clarity is also required when setting out the constructs you intend to study
because (a) the meaning/understanding that people get from a construct can be different,
and (b) constructs can be viewed from a number of different perspectives, even when there is

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agreement of the meaning of constructs (e.g., intelligence may be viewed in terms of IQ, but
also EI - emotional intelligence - or another perspective).

Construct Perspectives/approaches towards the construct

Disability Perspective
1:Bio-medical approach
Views disability as a medical or physical condition that can be prevented
or reduced through interventions that are biological, medical or genetic in
nature.

Perspective 2: Functional approach

Disability is viewed again as an individual condition, but focus is placed
on ways to treat the functional incapacity this creates.

Perspective 3: Rights-outcome approach

Views disability as a consequence of the way in which society is
organised, and the relationship between society and the individual.

Constructs can also have a number of different dimensions (e.g., the construct, organisational

commitment, is often viewed as consisting of three dimensions - affective
commitment, continuance commitment and normative commitment - which whilst constructs
in their own right, are part of the broader construct, organisational commitment).

Ultimately, we have to make a choice between possible (i.e., multiple) theoretical or nominal
definitions of constructs; we have to settle on a particular definition, but explain: (a) why we
made this choice over definitions that adopt the same/similar approach, in terms of (i) how it
fits with your research agenda and (ii) support for a definition in the literature amongst other
researchers; and (b) how the conceptual definitions relates to other constructs, whether (i) in
the same area or (ii) another conceptual area we are interested in. It is important to note that
despite the need to make choices between conceptual definitions, there are
no right or wrong answers.

Since a conceptual definition only provides the platform for the operational definition that is
used to empirically measure constructs, we discuss about translating constructs
into operational definitions in the next section.

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Translating constructs into operational definitions

Whilst constructs are sometimes mistaken for variables, they are not variables. Instead, we
use variables to operationalize (i.e., measure) the constructs we are interested in. Constructs
can be mistaken for variables because some constructs may only be represented
by one variable, such that the construct name and the variable name are the same (e.g., the
construct and variable, sex).

Therefore, constructs need to be translated from the abstract (i.e., mental ideas;

mental abstractions) to the concrete (i.e., measureable/testable in the form of variables). In
other words, we are re-stating constructs as variables, with variables also having their
own attributes (e.g., gender having the attributes male/female, which is important, because
gender is a classic example of where constructs/variables, and their attributes, can be
confused). The role of the operational definition is to precisely describe how
to measure the characteristics of a construct. By characteristics, we mean the mental
abstractions/ideas within constructs that ultimately are measureable in the form
of variables and their attributes. It is these variables and their attributes that are measured.

Constructs can be represented by a wide range of variables. For example, happiness could be

associated with love, financial security, cigarettes, puppies, a song, ice cream, and so on.
Translating abstract concepts (e.g., happiness) into concrete variables is not straightforward.
People view constructs in different ways (e.g., in the case of happiness, people often adopt a
perspective that focuses on actions, such as smoking a cigarette, or possessions, such as
owning a diamond, so you need to be clear how you intend to operationalize a construct,
and why you are making such choices).

Translating constructs into operational definitions can be an iterative process, but testing (i.e.,

the measurement process) should not start until a conceptual and operational definition of
your construct(s) have been selected (i.e., you cannot have good measurement without
conceptual/operational clarity of constructs).

Ultimately, the operational definition is seldom perfect; that is, the choice of operational
definition may be constrained by factors such as a lack of access to operational/measurement
data. Also, how we construct/formulate an operational definition will impact on the
complexity of the measurement process.

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CATEGORICAL VARIABLES

Categorical variables are also known as qualitative (or discrete) variables. These categorical

variables can be further classified as being nominal, dichotomous or ordinal variables. Each
of these types of categorical variable (i.e., nominal, dichotomous and ordinal) has what are
known as categories or levels. These categories or levels are the descriptions that you give a
variable that help to explain how variables should be measured, manipulated and/or
controlled. Take the following example:

Career choices of university students

You are interested in the career choices of university students. You could ask
university students a number of closed questions related to their career choices.
For example:
What is your planned occupation?
What is the most important factor influencing your career choice?

The first question highlights the use of categories and the second question levels. For
example:

Question 1: What is your planned occupation?

Variables with categories
Attorney
Entrepreneur
Doctor
Quantity Surveyor

Question 2: On a scale of 1 to 5, how important are the following factors in influencing
your career choice [1 = least important; 5 = most important]?
Variables with levels

Career prospects
Nature of the work
Physical working conditions
Salary and benefits
ETC...

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Each of these types of categorical variable (i.e., nominal, dichotomous and ordinal) are
described below with associated examples:

Nominal variables

The following are examples of nominal variables. These nominal variables could address
questions like:

Question: What is your gender?

Answer: I am male (or female, bisexual, transsexual)
Nominal variable: Gender
Category: Male, Female, Bisexual, Transsexual

Question: What type of property are you interested in?

Answer: A house (or an apartment, or a bungalow)
Nominal variable: Type of property (the customer is interested in)
Category: House, Apartment, Bungalow

Question: What is your blood type?

Answer: I have blood type A (or B, AB, O, etc.)
Nominal variable: Blood type
Category: A, B, AB, O, etc.

These examples highlight two core characteristics of nominal variables:

1. Nominal variables have two or more categories.

2. Nominal variables do not have an intrinsic order.

When we talk about nominal variables not having an intrinsic order, we mean that they can
only have categories (e.g., black, blond, brown and red hair); not levels (e.g., a Likert scale
from 1 to 5).

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Dichotomous variables

The following are examples of dichotomous variables. These dichotomous variables could
address questions like:

Question: Are you male or female?

Answer: I am male (or I am female)
Dichotomous variable: Sex
Category: Male, Female

Question: Do you like watching television?

Answer: Yes I do (or No I don't)
Dichotomous variable: Opinion about watching television
Category: Yes, No

Question: What type of property are you interested in?

Answer: A residential property (or a commercial property)
Dichotomous variable: Type of property the customer is interested in
Category: Residential, Commercial

Question: What is your employment status?

Answer: I am employed (or I am unemployed)
Dichotomous variable: Employment status
Category: Employed, Unemployed

Dichotomous variables are nominal variables that have just two categories. They have a
number of characteristics:

 Dichotomous variables are designed to give you an either/or response

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 For example, you are either male or female. You either like watching television (i.e.,
you answer YES) or you don't (i.e., you answer NO).

 Dichotomous variables can either be fixed or designed

For example, some variables (e.g., your sex) can only be dichotomous (i.e., you can
only be male or female). They are therefore fixed. In other cases, dichotomous
variables are designed by the researcher. For example, take the question: Do you like
watching television? We have determined that the respondent can only
select YES (i.e., I like watching television) or NO (i.e., I don't like watching
television). However, another researcher could provide the respondent with more than
two categories to this question (e.g., most of the time, sometimes, hardly ever). Where
more than two categories are used, these variables become known
as nominal variables rather than dichotomous ones.

Ordinal variables

Just like nominal variables, ordinal variables have two or more categories. However, unlike
nominal variables, ordinal variables can also be ordered or ranked (i.e., they have levels). For
example, take the following example of an ordinal variable:

Question: Do you like the policies of the Democratic Party?

Answer: Not very much (or They are OK, or Yes, a lot)
Ordinal variable: Opinions towards Democratic Party policies
Level: Not very much, They are OK, Yes, a lot

So if you asked someone if they liked the policies of the Democratic Party and you presented
them with the following three categories: Not very much, They are OK, or Yes, a lot; you
have an ordinal variable. Why because you have 3 categories namely Not very much, They
are OK, and Yes, a lot and you can rank them from the most positive (Yes, a lot), to
the middle response (They are OK), to the least positive (Not very much). However, whilst we
can rank the three categories, we cannot place a value to them. For example, we cannot say
that the response, They are OK, is twice as positive as the response, Not very much.

Other examples of ordinal variables are:

Question: In what year did you start university?

Answer: I started in 2006 (or 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010)

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 Ordinal variable: Year of university entry
Level: 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010

Question: Do you like watching television?

Answer: Most of the time(or sometimes, hardly ever)
Ordinal variable: Opinion about watching television
Level: Most of the time, Sometimes, Hardly ever

Question: To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statement:
Going to university is important to get a good job
[based on a 5-point Likert scale of 1 = strongly agree, 2 = agree, 3 =
neither agree nor disagree, 4 = disagree, 5 = strongly disagree]
Answer: 2 = I agree (or 1, 3, 4 or 5 on the 5-point Likert scale)
Ordinal
The importance of university to getting a good job
variable:
Level: 1 = strongly agree, 2 = agree, 3 = neither agree nor disagree, 4 =
disagree, 5 = strongly disagree

CONTINUOUS VARIABLES

Continuous variables, which are also known as quantitative variables, can be further

classified as being either interval or ratio variables. Each of these types of continuous
variable (i.e., interval and ratio) has numerical properties. These numerical properties are
the values by which continuous variables can be measured, manipulated and/or controlled.
We illustrate the two types of continuous variable (i.e., interval and ratio) and some
associated values in the sections that follow:

Interval variables

Interval variables have a numerical value and can be measured along a continuum. Some
examples of interval variables are:

Interval variable: Temperature (measured in degrees Celsius or Fahrenheit)

Explanation: The difference between 20C and 30C is the same as 30C to 40C

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However, temperature measured in degrees Celsius or Fahrenheit is NOT a ratio variable.
This is because temperature measured in degrees Celsius or Fahrenheit is not a ratio variable
because 00C does not mean there is no temperature.

Ratio variables

Ratio variables are interval variables that meet an additional condition: a

measurement value of 0 (zero) must mean that there is none of that variable. Some examples
of ratio variables are:

Ratio variable: Temperature measured in Kelvin

Explanation: 0 Kelvin, often called absolute zero, indicates that there is no
temperature whatsoever.
A temperature of 10 Kelvin is four times the temperature of 2.5
Kelvin

Ratio variable: Distance

Explanation: If two houses are joined together (e.g., terraced housing), the distance
between the adjoining walls is 0 (i.e., there is no distance
whatsoever).
On the other hand, a distance of 10 meters between the houses would
be twice the distance of a 5 meter gap between the houses (i.e., a
distance of 10 metres is twice the distance of 5 metres).

Other ratio variables: Height, mass/weight, etc.

Ambiguities in classifying variables

Sometimes, the measurement scale for data is ordinal, but the variable is treated as though it
were continuous. This is more often the case when using Likert scales. When a Likert scale
has five values (e.g., strongly agree, agree, neither agree nor disagree, disagree, and strongly
disagree), it is treated as an ordinal variable. However, when a Likert scale has seven or
more values (e.g., strongly agree, moderately agree, agree, neither agree nor disagree,
disagree, moderately disagree, and strongly disagree), the variable is sometimes treated as
a continuous variable. Nonetheless, this is a matter of dispute. Some researchers would argue
that a Likert scale should never be treated as a continuous variable, even with seven
levels/values.

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Since you are responsible for setting the measurement scale for a variable, you will need to
think carefully about how you characterise a variable. For example, social scientists may be
more likely to consider the variable gender to be a nominal variable. This is because they
view gender as having a number of categories, including male, female, bisexual and
transsexual. By contrast, other researchers may simply view gender as
a dichotomous variable, having just two categories: male and female. In such cases, it may be
better to refer to the variable gender as sex.

INDEPENDENT AND DEPEDENT VARIABLES

The variables in a study of a cause-and-effect relationship are called the independent and

dependent variables.

 The independent variable is the cause. Its value is independent of other variables in

your study.
 The dependent variable is the effect. Its value depends on changes in the
independent variable.

Examples of independent and dependent variables

Research Question Independent variable(s) Dependent variable(s)

Do tomatoes grow fastest under  The type of light  The rate of

fluorescent, incandescent, or the tomato plant is growth of the
natural light? grown under tomato plant

What is the effect of diet and  The type of soda  Your blood
regular soda on blood sugar you drink (diet or sugar levels
levels? regular)

How does phone use before  The amount of  Number of hours

bedtime affect sleep? phone use before of sleep
bed  Quality of sleep

How well do different plant  The amount of salt  Plant growth

species tolerate salt water? added to the plants’  Plant wilting
water  Plant survival
rate

Independent and dependent variables in experiments

In experimental research, the independent variable is manipulated or changed by the
experimenter to measure the effect of this change on the dependent variable.

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Experiment example
You are studying the impact of a new medication on the blood pressure of patients with
hypertension.
To test whether the medication is effective, you divide your patients into two groups. One
group takes the medication, while the other group takes a sugar pill.

 Your independent variable is the treatment that you vary between groups: which type
of pill the patient receives.
 Your dependent variable is the outcome that you measure: the blood pressure of the
patients.

Below is chart showing the effect of the two medications on the blood pressure of the patient

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The independent variable is usually applied at different levels to see how the outcome differs.

You can apply just two levels (e.g. the new medication and the place) in order to find
out if the independent variable has an effect at all.

You can also apply multiple levels (e.g. three different doses of the new medication) to find
out how the independent variable affects the dependent variable.

Variables in other types of research

Outside of an experimental setting, researchers often cannot directly manipulate or change
the independent variable that they’re interested in.

Instead, they must find already-existing examples of the independent variable, and investigate
how changes in this variable affect the dependent variable.

Research example:
You are interested in whether a higher minimum wage impacts employment rates.
You can’t control the minimum wage yourself. Instead, you look at a state that raised its
minimum wage last year, and compare it to a neighbouring state that did not.

 Your independent variable is the minimum wage.

 Your dependent variable is the employment rate.

By comparing the difference in outcomes between the two states (and accounting for other
factors), you can investigate whether the change in minimum wage had an effect on
employment rates.

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In non-experimental research, it’s more difficult to establish a definite cause-and-effect
relationship, because other variables that you haven’t measured might be influencing the
changes. These are known as confounding variables.

In types of research where the exact relationship between variables is less certain, you might
use different terms for independent and dependent variables.

Other names for independent variables

Sometimes, the variable you think is the cause might not be fully independent – it might be
influenced by other variables. In this case, one of these terms is more appropriate:

 Explanatory variables (they explain an event or outcome)

 Predictor variables (they can be used to predict the value of a dependent variable)
 Right-hand-side variables (they appear on the right-hand side of
a regression equation).

Other names for dependent variables

Dependent variables are also known by these terms:

 Outcome variables (they represent the outcome you want to measure)

 Left-hand-side variables (they appear on the left-hand side of a regression equation)
 Response variables (they respond to a change in another variable)

Visualizing independent and dependent variables

Researchers often use charts or graphs to visualize the results of their studies. The norm is to
place the independent variable on the “x”or horizontal axis and the dependent variable on the
“y” or vertical axis.

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REFERENCES

 Surbhi, S. (2017 September 1). Difference Between Parametric and Nonparametric Test.
https://keydifferences.com/difference-between-parametric-and-nonparametric-test.html

Bevans, R (2021 August 2). Statistical tests: which one should you use?
https://www.scribbr.com/statistics/statistical-tests/

Campbell MJ and Swinscow TDV. 2009. Statistics at Square One 11th ed. Wiley-Blackwell:
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methods/1b-statistical-methods/parametric-nonparametric-tests

Butler, R. N. (1975). Why Survive? Being Old in America. San Francisco: Harper & Row.

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Oxford Dictionaries (2011). Dictionary: www.oxforddictionaries.com

Rioux, M. H. (1997). When myths masquerade as science. In L. Barton & M.

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