By Hui Bian

Office for Faculty Excellence

A parametric statistical test is a test whose

model specifies certain conditions about the
parameters of the population from which the
research sample was drawn. Conditions include:
The observations must be independent.
The observations must be drawn from normally
distributed populations
These populations must have the same variances
Variables involved must have been measured in at
least an interval scale.

A non-parametric statistical test is a test whose

model does NOT specify conditions about the
parameters of the population from which the
sample was drawn.
Do not require measurement so strong as that
required for the parametric tests.
Most non-parametric tests apply to data in an
ordinal scale, and some apply to data in nominal
scale.

Why non-parametric tests?

They do not make numerous or stringent
assumptions about parameters.
Or call those tests distribution-free

Statistical reference is concerned two types of

problem:
Estimation of population parameters
Tests of hypotheses

When the data under analysis are met those

assumptions for parametric tests, we should
choose parametric tests because they are more
powerful than non-parametric tests.

Non-parametric tests focus on order or ranking

Data are changed from scores to ranks or signs

A parametric test focuses on the mean

difference, and equivalent non-parametric test
focuses on the difference between medians.

Three types of tests

A one-sample test analyzes one field.
A test for related samples compares two or more
fields for the same set of cases.
An independent-samples test analyzes one field
that is grouped by categories of another field.

What is your objective?

Automatically compare observed data to
hypothesized. Binomial test: categorical fields with
only two categories; Chi-Square test: all other
categorical fields; and Kolmogorov-Smirnov test:
continuous fields.
Test sequence for randomness. Runs test: test the
observed sequence of data values for randomness.
Custom analysis. Manually choose your test (Click
Settings tab). This setting is automatically selected if you
subsequently make changes to options on the Settings tab that are
incompatible with the currently selected objective.

How to run one-sample nonparametric tests

Go to Analyze > Nonparametric Tests > One Sample

Example 1: Binomial test (variable with only two

categories)
We want to know if there is no difference between
the proportion of males and females (H0).
Use Q2 (gender) as Field variable

Binomial test: Click Field tab, then click Run

SPSS output of binomial test

the proportions of females and males in this

sample significantly differ.

Double click the table in the output, we can get

a new window called Model Viewer
Model Viewer

Another way to get Binomial test

Go to Analyze > Nonparametric Tests > Legacy
Dialogue > Binomial Test

SPSS Output

Chi-square goodness of fit: it allows us to test

whether the observed proportions for a
categorical variable differ from hypothesized
proportions.
Example: we want to know whether the four
grade levels have equal frequencies.
Use Q3r (has four grade levels: 9th, 10th, 11th, and
12th)
We can let SPSS automatically choose expected
values for us (the probability should be 25% for
each grade level)

We can also customize our analysis

Objective: customize analysis
Fields: Q3r
Settings: Choose Customize tests, check the second box

Click Options: we want equal probability

In the Category column, specify category values. In the Relative Frequency

column, specify a value greater than 0 for each category. Custom frequencies are
treated as ratios so that, for example, specifying frequencies 1, 2, and 3 is
equivalent to specifying frequencies 10, 20, and 30, and both specify that 1/6 of
the records are expected to fall into the first category, 1/3 into the second, and
1/2 into the third.

SPSS Output

Kolmogorov-Smirnov test: it is applied to

continuous fields. This produces a one-sample
test of whether the sample cumulative
distribution function for a field is homogenous
with a uniform, normal, Poisson, or exponential
distribution.
Example: we want to know If Q30 has a normal
distribution.

We can let SPSS automatically choose test for us

or customize analysis
Q30 is a continuous variable.

Click Options: check Normal

SPSS outputs

One sample median test: Wilcoxon signed rank

test that allows us to test whether a sample
median differs significantly from a hypothesized
value.
Example: we use Q80 as a field. We want to
know whether the median of Q80 differs from
3.

Click settings

SPSS Outputs

Independent sample nonparametric tests

identify differences between two or more
groups using one or more nonparametric tests.
Nonparametric tests do not assume your data
follow the normal distribution.
2 Independent samples: grouping variable has two
categories.
K Independent samples: grouping variable has
more than two (k) categories

2 Independent samples
Example: we want to know whether there are gender
difference on Q30 and Q80
Go to analyze > Nonparametric Test > Legacy Dialogue
> 2 Independent Samples

Another way to run the analysis

Go to Analyze > Non Parametric Tests >
Independent Samples
Choose Automatically compare distributions
across groups

Click Settings

We can let SPSS make decision for us.

We also can customize tests
Mann-Whitney U for two groups
Kruskal-Wallis 1-way ANOVA for more than two
groups

2 Independent samples
SPSS Outputs

SPSS Outputs

K Independent samples (more than two groups)

Example: we want to know whether there are grade
(Q3r) difference on Q30 and Q80
Go to analyze > Nonparametric Test > Legacy Dialogue
> K Independent Samples

Another way to analyze data

K Independent samples: SPSS output

SPSS Output

2 Related samples: Wilcoxon signed rank sum

test (identify differences between two related
fields).
Example: we want to know whether there is a
difference between pre and post test scores of
drug use (assume Q30 is a pre score and Q41 is
a post score)
Go to Analyze > Nonparametric Tests > Legacy
Dialogue > 2 Related Samples

2 Related samples

2 Related samples : SPSS Outputs

Another way to analyze data

Go to Analyze > Nonparametric Tests > Related
Samples

Click Settings

McNemars test (2 samples): test for change in

binary data.
Cochrans Q (k samples) can be applied to
categorical fields.
Test change for Multinomial data (2 samples):
applied to ordinal fields.
Compare median difference to hypothesized (2
samples): applied to continuous fields.
Estimate confidence interval (2 samples):
median difference of related samples

Quantity association (k samples): produces a

measure of agreement among judges or raters.
Compare distributions (k samples): applied to
continuous fields.

SPSS Output

K related samples
Example: we use Q30, Q41, and Q42 as three
related fields to test the change.

From Legacy Dialogue

SPSS output