Vignette: A medical student is conducting a study comparing the mean blood pressure of two groups of patients: one group receiving a new antihypertensive medication, the other receiving a placebo. He collects the following data:
Group 1 (New Medication): Mean blood pressure = 120 mmHg, Standard deviation = 10 mmHg, n = 100 Group 2 (Placebo): Mean blood pressure = 130 mmHg, Standard deviation = 15 mmHg, n = 100
The student wants to determine if there is a significant difference between the two groups. Which of the following statistical tests should the student use to analyze this data?
A. Chi-square test
B. Fisher's exact test
C. Independent t-test
D. Paired t-test
E. Mann-Whitney U test
C. Independent t-test
The student should use an independent t-test for this scenario. The independent t-test is used to compare the means of two independent groups of subjects. In this case, group 1 (those receiving the new medication) and group 2 (those receiving the placebo) are independent of each other. The data is also numerical (quantitative), normally distributed, and the sample sizes are equal, which makes the independent t-test the most appropriate choice.
A. The Chi-square test is used for categorical data. B. Fisher's exact test is used when sample sizes are small and the data is categorical. D. The paired t-test is used when the two samples are related or paired, which is not the case in this scenario. E. The Mann-Whitney U test is used when comparing two independent groups, but the data is not normally distributed or the measurement scale is ordinal.
Legal
Terms of ServiceInstall App coming soon