1.We are comparing 8 individuals who receive one drug treatment for diabetes to
ID: 3065876 • Letter: 1
Question
1.We are comparing 8 individuals who receive one drug treatment for diabetes to
8 individuals who are receiving an alternative drug treatment for diabetes to
assess the differential effects of the two drugs on fasting blood glucose. If the
8 individuals receiving drug 1 were identical twins and we were comparing each of
them to their co-twin who received drug 2, we could use a paired sample t-test
and there would be 8-1=7 degrees of freedom. On the other hand, if 8 individuals
were picked at random to receive drug 1 and another 8 individuals were picked
at random to receive drug 2, we would use an independent samples t-test and
there would be 16-2=14 degrees of freedom. What explains the differences in the
degrees of freedom in these two situations?
Explanation / Answer
In independent sample t TEST
The shape of the t distribution is different for different sample sizes.Therefore, when making inferences about the difference between two population means, the size of the two samples must be taken into account. This is because the t distribution is used to make these inferences.
Whereas a Paired Samples T-Test compares two sample means from the same population regarding the same variable at two different times such as during a pre-test and post-test. Hence we need to account the size of the differences.
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