SPSS Guide: Tests of Differences

I put this together to give you a step-by-step guide for replicating what we did in the computer lab. It
should help you run the tests we covered. The best way to get familiar with these techniques is just to
play around with the data and run tests. As you do it, though, think of the research questions from your
project and how these tests can answer them.

One-Sample T-Test
In the SPSS menu, select Analyze>Compare Means>One Sample T-test
Select the variable(s) from the list you want to look at and click the button to move it into the Test
Variable(s) area. Then enter the test value. In this example, were testing the hypothesis that the
median house value is 200,000.

Select the Options button and check that the confidence interval is where you want it (the default is
95%, which is what we normally use.

Select Continue and then OK on the main window. You should get the following output.

One-Sample Statistics
N
D6 House Value ($)

Mean
1123

203786.40

Std. Deviation

Std. Error Mean

184926.607

5518.354

One-Sample Test
Test Value = 200000
95% Confidence Interval of the
Difference
t
D6 House Value ($)

df
.686

Sig. (2-tailed)
1122

.493

Mean Difference
3786.401

Lower
-7041.05

Upper
14613.85

Note that the mean is $203,786.40, which is pretty close to the hypothesized value. The significance is
.493, well above the .05 threshold, so our hypothesis is supported.
How do you know whether the significance should be higher or lower than .05? Recall that this is a test
of whether there is a statistical difference between the test value and the sample mean. Since the tvalue is not significant, we reject the null hypothesis that there is a difference, and accept our
hypothesis.

Independent Samples T-test

This test is similar to the one-sample test, except rather than testing a hypothesized mean, were testing
to see if there is a difference between two groups.
For the grouping variable, you can choose a demographic trait (such as gender, age, ethnicity, etc) or
any other variable that classifies your groups. (In an experimental design, it is a good way to test the
differences between the control group and the manipulation group.) In this example, well use gender.
In the SPSS menu, select Analyze>Compare Means>Independent Samples T-test
Select your Test variable from the list. This is the variable for which you want to compare means. In this
example, we will test C18 (I would describe myself as environmentally responsible.)

Now select the grouping variable, which is the trait youre using to divide the groups. For this example,
we will select gender. Select it from the list and click the arrow next to Grouping Variable.

Then, click Define Groups and enter the values for the two groups. In this example, 1=Female and
2=Male. Also notice the Cut Point option. What if we wanted to divide the sample into two groups
based on home value? The cut point would be the value where you split the sample. For example, if
you entered 100,000, it would create two groups one for home value less than 100,000 and another
for more than 200,000. For this example, lets stick to gender, though. Select continue, and then click
OK. Youll go back to the previous window with the groups fiilled in.

Select OK, and youll get the output on the following page. Youll notice that the means appear to be
pretty close and the standard deviations are pretty close, too. So the means and distribution dont
appear to be different, but we need to test it statistically. This one is similar to the one-sample test,
except first we have to test for equal variance.
Step One: Is there a difference in variance? If the Lavernes Test is <.05, we assume unequal variances
and go to the second line. Otherwise, variances are equal, so we use the top test.
Step Two: Is there a difference in means? If the significance of the t-test is <.05, there is a difference in
means. If it is >.05, then the null hypothesis (no difference) is supported.

Group Statistics
D1 Gender

C18 I would describe myself 1 Male

as environmentally

2 Female

responsible

Mean

Std. Deviation

Std. Error Mean

886

3.32

.963

.032

782

3.38

.957

.034

Independent Samples Test

Levene's Test
for Equality of
Variances

t-test for Equality of Means

95% Confidence
Interval of the

F
C18 I would describe

Equal

myself as

variances

environmentally

assumed

responsible

.021

Sig.

df

Sig. (2-

Mean

Std. Error

tailed)

Difference

Difference

Difference
Lower

Upper

.886 -1.248

1666

.212

-.059

.047

-.151

.034

-1.249

1642.573

.212

-.059

.047

-.151

.034

Equal
variances not
assumed

The Lavernes test of .886 indicates that we should assume equal variances.
The t-test significance is .212, so there does not appear to be a difference in means. The null hypothesis
is supported.

Paired Samples t-test

With the paired samples t-test, were not testing for differences between groups. Instead, were testing
for means of different variables within the sample sample.
For example, we want to compare the mean for user-created videos and the mean for companygenerated videos.
Go to Analyze>Compare Means>Paired Samples T-test
Select the two variables you want to compare, and click the arrow to move them into the Paired
Variables pane.

Under options, make sure that youre using a 95% confidence interval.

Click continue and then OK and youll get the following output.

Paired Samples Statistics

Mean
Pair 1

Std. Error
Mean

Std. Deviation

C4 I like YouTube
videos created by the
sponsor company of
the product or brand

2.90

1274

1.191

.033

C5 I like YouTube
videos created by
customers/fans of the
product or brand

3.05

1274

1.183

.033

Paired Samples Correlations

N
Pair 1

C4 I like YouTube videos

created by the sponsor
company of the product or
brand & C5 I like YouTube
videos created by
customers/fans of the
product or brand

Correlation

1274

Sig.

.689

.000

Paired Samples Test

Mean
Pair
1

C4 I like YouTube
videos created by
the sponsor
company of the
product or brand C5 I like YouTube
videos created by
customers/fans of
the product or brand

-.146

Paired Differences
95% Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Std.
Std.
Error
Deviation
Mean
Upper
Lower

.936

.026

-.197

-.095

Sig. (2tailed)
Std.
Err
or
Me
Std. Deviation
an
df

-5.568

1273

.000

Remember that the null hypothesis is that there is no difference between the means. Note that the
absolute value of the t-value is greater than the critical value (1.96). Since the significance is .000, which
is less than .05 we can reject the null hypothesis and conclude that there is a difference between the
two means. If you look at the descriptive statistics for the paired sample, you can see which mean is
greater.

One-Way ANOVA
What if we want to test for differences between more than two groups. ANOVA (which stands for
Analysis of Variance) is the way to go.
Analysis>Compare Means>One-Way ANOVA
Select the variable(s) you want to test and move into the Dependent List pane.

Now, move the variable that you are using to separate them into groups into the Factor pane. For
example, in our data set, there are three age groups (1,2 and 3) for the 15-18, 19-24, and 25+
groups, respectively, in the AgeGroup variable.

Click OK and you get the following output.

ANOVA
CON1
Sum of Squares
Between Groups

df

Mean Square

2.707

1.353

Within Groups

1081.801

1282

.844

Total

1084.508

1284

F
1.604

Sig.
.202

The F-test is less than the critical F-value (1.604<1.96). The significance of .202 is greater than .05, so we
fail to reject the null. There are no significant differences in the mean for CON1 between the three
groups. The test is complete.
But what if the test is significant?

ANOVA
CON2
Sum of Squares
Between Groups

df

Mean Square

21.145

10.572

Within Groups

931.955

1286

.725

Total

953.100

1288

F
14.589

Sig.
.000

The significance is .000, so we reject the null hypothesis and conclude that at least one of the means is
significantly different. But which one(s)? To determine this, we must use a post-hoc test. Go back to
Analyze>Compare Means>One Way ANOVA but this time, click Post-Hoc

Then, select Tukey and Duncan

You will get the following output for the Tukey test.

Post Hoc Tests

Multiple Comparisons
Dependent Variable:CON2
95% Confidence Interval

Tukey

(I) AgeGroup

(J) AgeGroup

AgeGroup

AgeGroup

1 15-18 year olds

2 19-24 year olds

.00831

.05820 .989

-.1282

.1449

3 25 years old +

.27527

.05816 .000

.1388

.4117

1 15-18 year olds

-.00831

.05820 .989

-.1449

.1282

3 25 years old +

.26696

.05789 .000

.1311

.4028

1 15-18 year olds

-.27527

.05816 .000

-.4117

-.1388

2 19-24 year olds

-.26696

.05789 .000

-.4028

-.1311

HSD
2 19-24 year olds

3 25 years old +

*. The mean difference is significant at the 0.05 level.

Mean Difference (I-

Std.

J)

Error

Sig.

Lower

Upper

Bound

Bound

Notice that the output compares the group in the left column with the other two groups in the right
column and gives you the significance level and the difference in means. The 25 year old + group is
significantly different (p=.000) than the other two groups, but there is no significant difference between
the 15-18 year olds and 19-24 year olds. The mean difference column indicates that I-J = .27527); that
is, the mean for 15-18 year-olds mean for 25yo + = .27527. In other words, the mean for 15-18 year
olds is .27527 higher (on a 1-5 scale) than the 25+ yo.
Also, the Duncan and Tukey tests both create homogenous groups (segments, in strategy terms) based
on their means.

CON2
Subset for alpha = 0.05

AgeGroup
AgeGroup
a

Tukey HSD

3 25 years old +

433

2 19-24 year olds

432

3.6079

1 15-18 year olds

424

3.6162

Sig.
Duncan

3.3409

1.000

.989

3 25 years old +

433

2 19-24 year olds

432

3.6079

1 15-18 year olds

424

3.6162

Sig.

3.3409

1.000

.886

Means for groups in homogeneous subsets are displayed.

a. Uses Harmonic Mean Sample Size = 429.629.

As you would expect from the previous test, the 25+ group forms one segment and the other two age
groups form a second segment. The values (3.3409, etc.) are the means for each group.