A medical researcher wondered if there is a significant difference between the mean birth weight of boy and girl babies.Random samples of 5 babies' weights (pounds)for each gender showed the following: To test the researcher's hypothesis,we should use the:
A) paired (dependent)samples t-test.
B) independent samples t-test.
C) large-sample z-test.
D) t-test for correlation.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The researcher is comparing the mean birth weight of two independent groups (boys and girls), so an independent samples t-test should be used. The paired (dependent) samples t-test would be appropriate if the researcher was comparing the same group of babies at two different time points (before and after), for example. The large-sample z-test would be appropriate if the sample size was very large, but in this case, both samples have n=5, which is relatively small. The t-test for correlation would be appropriate if the researcher was examining the relationship between two continuous variables.

A Medical Researcher Wondered If There Is a Significant Difference