BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN MEDICAL

LABORATORY SCIENCE:
BIOSTATISTICS AND EPIDEMIOLOGY
COURSE MODULE COURSE UNIT WEEK
2 6 2
Introduction to statistical inference
Summary of the Different Basic Statistical Tests I (Z-test and T-test)

 Read course and unit objectives

 Read study guide prior to class attendance
 Read required learning resources; refer to unit
terminologies for jargons
 Proactively participate in classroom discussions
 Participate in weekly discussion board (Canvas)
 Answer and submit course unit tasks

At the end of this unit, the students are expected to:

Cognitive:
1. Define clearly the vital terms related to inferential statistics
2. Enumerate correctly the properties of the sampling distribution of the mean
3. Compute and interpret accurately the pointy confidence intervals of the mean
4. Describe thoroughly the function of each statistical test
5. Competently generate hypothesis, compute and interpret statistical data using each test
Affective:
1. Listen attentively during online class discussions
2. Respond tactfully and respectfully during exchange of ideas and forum discussions.
3. Courteously accept comments and feedbacks of classmates on one’s opinions and ideas.

Psychomotor:
1. Participate actively during online class discussions
2. Perform correctly and individually the assigned unit tasks and assessment tasks.

Z-test and T-test:

Course Module 2, Course Unit 6, Week 2 Study Guide: T-test

Antony Stewart. Basic Statistics and Epidemiology. A Practical Guide. 4th ed. T-test. (pp.49-54) CRC
Press Taylor & Francis Group. 2016
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1H0qRR8d6GKSBJ3BFiftxulQe31vvqRUS/view?usp=sharing

Z-test and T-test

The Z-test and the T-test are statistical tests that test for difference between two groups. They
are similar in all respects except for their required sample size. The z-test requires a sample size of
more than 30 while the t-test requires a sample size lower than 30.

The Z-test and T-test are both tests that compare the means of two separate groups or
observations. For example, a researcher would like to compare two brands of tires and their average
lifespan, then it would be appropriate to use the Z-test or the T-test. Notice that the two groups are
independent from each other meaning that Tire Brand A is exclusive from Tire Brand B and either
of the two brands does not affect the lifespan of the other. Let us say perhaps a researcher would
like to test something like the effectiveness of a certain chemical on the breaking distance of a tire,
then the most appropriate test would be the dependent samples T-test; notice that in this case what
you will be testing is the breaking distance before and after using the chemical on the tire.

Z-test

There are two forms of Z-test, the one-sample Z-test and the two-sample Z-test. The one-
sample Z-test compares the sample mean with the population mean, while the two-sample Z-test
compares the means of two separate groups.
 Before using a statistical test, it is important to first consider all the assumptions that a test
makes on a certain data set. Assumptions are a set of rules or parameters that must be met for a
statistical test to be considered “valid”; these include assumptions about the distribution of data,
the standard deviation, the homogeneity of variances and so on and so forth.
Now let’s start with using the Z-test – there are different ways to compute for the Z-test, one
of which is to use the formula below:

x    n
Where:
x̅ - group mean
µ - population mean (1)/hypothesized
z mean difference (2)

 σ – Standard deviation
n – sample size

*One Sample Z-test

(𝑥̅1 − 𝑥̅2 ) − (𝜇1 − 𝜇2 )

𝑍=
𝜎2 𝜎2
√ 1+ 2
𝑛1 𝑛2

*Two-Sample Z-test.

Excel

Another way to come-up with your Z-stat is to use computer software; Microsoft Excel’s data
analysis toolpak is an excellent tool to use when analyzing data statistically. To activate this simply
go to options, then click on plug-ins or add-ins, select Data Analysis Toolpak, click “go” at the
bottom of the page, and then click “ok”.

SPSS
Another notable data analysis software is SPSS by IBM. The results from this software
would be the same with your results in excel, however, since this software is focused on statistics,
it could sometimes prove difficult to encode the data in this system, but this also has the added
benefit of giving an output that is already in an acceptable and presentable tabular format.
Application of Z-test in statistical hypothesis testing:

A manufacturer claims that the average tensile strength of thread A exceeds the average
tensile strength of thread B. To test this claim, 50 pieces of each type of thread are tested under
similar conditions. Type A thread had an average tensile strength of 86.7 kilograms with a standard
deviation of 6.28 kilograms, while type B thread had an average tensile strength of 77.8 kilograms
with a standard deviation of 5.61 kilograms. Test the manufacturer’s claim using 5% level of
significance. (Assuming Normal Distribution). (De Lino, 2018)

T-Test

Like the Z-test, the T-test is used to test if there is a significant difference in the means of 2
groups - it can also test the difference between separate groups using the independent samples T-
test or the means of 2 groups of observations from the same sample using the dependent samples
T-test. The only difference between the Z-test and the T-test is the sample size. The Z-test requires
a sample size of more than 30 while the T-test requires a sample size not greater than 30.

Independent Samples T-test

To use the independent samples T-test, the sample size must not be greater than 30 from
two groups that are independent from each other and the distribution of the data should be
approximately normally distributed. Once all the assumptions of the test are met, we can now
use the formula:
Dependent Samples T-test

Also known as the Paired Samples T-test or simply the Paired T-test, this test statistic
requires that you have 2 sets of observations from a single group. This often means that a pre-
test or pre-observation and a post-test or post-observation is in order. This test, like the Independent
T-test assumes that the data is normally distributed and thus, have a homogenous variance. To
compute for the Paired T-test use the following formula:

Though in statistical software, sometimes the Z-test cannot be found. That is because in
terms of formulation and power, the z-test is similar to the t-test. As a matter of fact, the z-test was
formulated for data that has more than 30 measurements which would take too long if the t-test
formula was used and so, the formula for the z-test is made specifically to shorten that computation.

Hypothesis Testing Using z- and t-tests

http://www.angelfire.com/wv/bwhomedir/notes/z_and_t_tests.pdf

ANOVA (Analysis of Variance)

https://sites.calvin.edu/scofield/courses/m143/materials/handouts/anova1And2.pdf

Study Questions:

Using the steps in hypothesis testing, test the following hypotheses using the appropriate test
statistic. Manually compute for them first and then use computer software and then compare your
results.
 1. A teacher would like to know if the class will be able to absorb the lecture from a guest
speaker, so he made them take a pre-quiz before the lecture and a post-quiz after the lecture.
The teacher would like to know if there is a significant difference between the pre-quiz scores
and the post-quiz scores of the students (note that they are in a specific order):
a. Pre-quiz: 14,12,16,15,10,14,15
b. Post-quiz: 25,25,26,23,21,24,25

2. A student would like to know which establishment would allow him to save more money from
everyday food costs. He is choosing between AVM or Hollywood Terraces, so he traced his
spending in both establishments for 1 school week each, his data is as follows:
a. AVM: 97, 85, 69, 105, 105
b. HT: 60, 45, 60, 75, 100
Find out if there is a significant difference in his spending between the two food courts.

3. A sports researcher would like to determine if the “wonder wristband” can increase the speed
of runners. He took the 100m dash time of 6 runners before wearing the bracelet, their time
follows: 9.82, 10.12, 7.89, 8.12, 8.59, 8.49 and then the same runners’ time while wearing the
bracelet: 9.99, 10.52, 7.50, 6.54, 8.99, 6.87. Find out if there is a significant difference in time
without the bracelet and with the bracelet.

Marcelo Pagano et. al. Principle of Biostatistics. 2nd ed. CRC

Press: Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. 2018

Antony Stewart. Basic Statistics and Epidemiology. A Practical

Guide. 4th ed. CRC Press Taylor & Francis Group. 2016

Thomas Glover et. al. An Introduction to Biostatistics. 3rd ed.

Waveland Press Inc. 2016