Is it harder to get into graduate programs in psychology or history? We randomly

Question

Is it harder to get into graduate programs in psychology or history? We randomly selected five institutions from among all U.S. institutions with graduate programs. The first number for each is the minimum grade point average (GPA) for applicants to the psychology doctoral program, and the second is for applicants to the history doctoral program. These GPAs were posted on the Web site of the well-known college guide company Peterson's.
Wayne State University:   3.0, 2.75
University of Iowa:   3.0, 3.0
University of Nevada–Reno:   3.0, 2.75
George Washington University:   3.0, 3.0
University of Wyoming:   3.0, 3.0
The participants are not people; is it still appropriate to use a paired-samples t test for this situation? Why?

Is it harder to get into graduate programs in psychology or history? We randomly selected five institutions from among all U.S. institutions with graduate programs. The first number for each is the minimum grade point average (GPA) for applicants to the psychology doctoral program, and the second is for applicants to the history doctoral program. These GPAs were posted on the Web site of the well-known college guide company Peterson's.
Wayne State University:   3.0, 2.75
University of Iowa:   3.0, 3.0
University of Nevada–Reno:   3.0, 2.75
George Washington University:   3.0, 3.0
University of Wyoming:   3.0, 3.0
The participants are not people; is it still appropriate to use a paired-samples t test for this situation? Why?

No, because the psychology and history programs might have different admissions standards. Yes, because the same universities were used in each sample. Yes, because we have the same number of observations in each sample. No, because the students in each program are different and a paired-samples test must have the same people in both groups.

Explanation / Answer

Paired sample t-test is used in ‘before-after’ studies, or when the samples are the matched pairs, or when it is a case-control study.

No, because the psychology and history programs might have different admissions standards.

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse I
• Subjects

---

---

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.