t-test

UK: ˈtiː tɛst | US: ˈtiː tɛst

Definition

  1. n. A statistical test used to determine if there is a significant difference between the means of two groups, commonly applied in hypothesis testing.

Structure
t <statistical symbol>test <examination>
Etymology

The term "t-test" originates from the use of the letter "t" to denote the test statistic derived from Student's t-distribution, developed by William Sealy Gosset under the pseudonym "Student" in 1908. The word "test" retains its general meaning of examination or evaluation. The combination reflects the method's purpose: a statistical examination using the t-distribution.

Examples

  1. The researcher performed a t-test to compare the average scores of the two groups.

  2. A paired t-test is often used for before-and-after studies.

  3. The results of the t-test indicated a significant difference between the control and experimental groups.

  4. Students in statistics courses learn how to interpret t-test outputs.

  5. The t-test assumes that the data follows a normal distribution.