Application of student's t-test, analysis of variance, and covariance

ABSTRACT

Student's t test (t test), analysis of variance (ANOVA), and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) are statistical methods used in the testing of hypothesis for comparison of means between the groups. The Student's t test is used to compare the means between two groups, whereas ANOVA is used to compare the means among three or more groups. In ANOVA, first gets a common P value. A significant P value of the ANOVA test indicates for at least one pair, between which the mean difference was statistically significant. To identify that significant pair(s), we use multiple comparisons. In ANOVA, when using one categorical independent variable, it is called one-way ANOVA, whereas for two categorical independent variables, it is called two-way ANOVA. When using at least one covariate to adjust with dependent variable, ANOVA becomes ANCOVA. When the size of the sample is small, mean is very much affected by the outliers, so it is necessary to keep sufficient sample size while using these methods.