What is a Non Parametric Test?

A non parametric test (sometimes called a distribution free test) does not assume anything about the
underlying distribution (for example, that the data comes from a normal distribution). That’s compared
to parametric test, which makes assumptions about a population’s parameters (for example,
the mean or standard deviation); When the word “non parametric” is used in stats, it doesn’t quite mean that
you know nothing about the population. It usually means that you know the population data does not have
a normal distribution.
For example, one assumption for the one way ANOVA is that the data comes from a normal distribution. If
your data isn’t normally distributed, you can’t run an ANOVA, but you can run the nonparametric
alternative–the Kruskal-Wallis test.

If at all possible, you should us parametric tests, as they tend to be more accurate. Parametric tests have
greater statistical power, which means they are likely to find a true significant effect. Use nonparametric
tests only if you have to (i.e. you know that assumptions like normality are being violated). Nonparametric
tests can perform well with non-normal continuous data if you have a sufficiently large sample size
(generally 15-20 items in each group).

When to use it
Non parametric tests are used when your data isn’t normal. Therefore the key is to figure out if you have
normally distributed data. For example, you could look at the distribution of your data. If your data is
approximately normal, then you can use parametric statistical tests.
Q. If you don’t have a graph, how do you figure out if your data is normally distributed?
A. Check the skewness and Kurtosis of the distribution using software like Excel (See: Skewness in Excel
2013 andKurtosis in Excel 2013).
A normal distribution has no skew. Basically, it’s a centered and symmetrical in shape. Kurtosis refers to
how much of the data is in the tails and the center. The skewness and kurtosis for a normal distribution is
about 1.

If your distribution is not normal (in other words, the skewness and kurtosis deviate a lot from 1.0), you
should use a non parametric test like chi-square test. Otherwise you run the risk that your results will be
meaningless.

Data Types
Does your data allow for a parametric test, or do you have to use a non parametric test like chi-square?
The rule of thumb is:

 For nominal scales or ordinal scales, use non parametric statistics.

 For interval scales or ratio scales use parametric statistics.
A skewed distribution is one reason to run a nonparametric test.

Other reasons to run nonparametric tests:

 One or more assumptions of a parametric test have been violated.

 Your sample size is too small to run a parametric test.
 Your data has outliers that cannot be removed.
 You want to test for the median rather than the mean (you might want to do this if you have a very skewed
distribution).

Types of Nonparametric Tests

When the word “parametric” is used in stats, it usually means tests like ANOVA or a t test. Those tests
both assume that the population data has a normal distribution. Non parametric do not assume that the
data is normally distributed. The only non parametric test you are likely to come across in elementary
stats is the chi-square test. However, there are several others. For example: the Kruskal Willis test is the
non parametric alternative to the One way ANOVA and the Mann Whitney is the non parametric alternative
to the two sample t test.
The main nonparamteric tests are:

 1-sample sign test. Use this test to estimate the median of a population and compare it to a reference value or
target value.
 1-sample Wilcoxon signed rank test. With this test, you also estimate the population median and compare it
to a reference/target value. However, the test assumes your data comes from a symmetric distribution (like
the Cauchy distribution or uniform distribution).
 Friedman test. This test is used to test for differences between groups with ordinal dependent variables. It can
also be used for continuous data if the one-way ANOVA with repeated measures is inappropriate (i.e. some
assumption has been violated).
 Goodman Kruska’s Gamma: a test of association for ranked variables.
 Kruskal-Wallis test. Use this test instead of a one-way ANOVA to find out if two or more medians are
different. Ranks of the data points are used for the calculations, rather than the data points themselves.
 The Mann-Kendall Trend Test looks for trends in time-series data.
 Mann-Whitney test. Use this test to compare differences between two independent groups when dependent
variables are either ordinal or continuous.
 Mood’s Median test. Use this test instead of the sign test when you have two independent samples.
 Spearman Rank Correlation.Use when you want to find a correlation between two sets of data.

The following table lists the nonparametric tests and their parametric alternatives.
NONPARAMETRIC TEST PARAMETRIC ALTERNATI VE

1-sample sign test One-sample Z-test, One sample t-test

1-sample Wilcoxon Signed Rank test One sample Z-test, One sample t-test

Friedman test Two-way ANOVA

Kruskal-Wallis test One-way ANOVA

Mann-Whitney test Independent samples t-test

Mood’s Median test One-way ANOVA

Spearman Rank Correlation Correlation Coefficient

Advantages and Disadvantages

Compared to parametric tests, nonparametric tests have several advantages, including:
 More statistical power when assumptions for the parametric tests have been violated. When assumptions
haven’t been violated, they can be almost as powerful.
 Fewer assumptions (i.e. the assumption of normality doesn’t apply).
 Small sample sizes are acceptable.
 They can be used for all data types, including nominal variables, interval variables, or data that has outliers or
that has been measured imprecisely.
However, they do have their disadvantages. The most notable ones are:

 Less powerful than parametric tests if assumptions haven’t been violated.

 More labor-intensive to calculate by hand (for computer calculations, this isn’t an issue).
 Critical value tables for many tests aren’t included in many computer software packages. This is compared to
tables for parametric tests (like the z-table or t-table) which usually are included.

Hypothesis Tests of the Mean and Median

Nonparametric tests are like a parallel universe to parametric tests. The table shows related pairs
of hypothesis tests that Minitab statistical software offers.

Parametric tests (means) Nonparametric tests (medians)

1-sample t test 1-sample Sign, 1-sample Wilcoxon
2-sample t test Mann-Whitney test
One-Way ANOVA Kruskal-Wallis, Mood’s median test
Factorial DOE with one factor and one blocking
Friedman test
variable

Reasons to Use Parametric Tests

Reason 1: Parametric tests can perform well with skewed and nonnormal distributions
This may be a surprise but parametric tests can perform well with continuous data that are
nonnormal if you satisfy the sample size guidelines in the table below. These guidelines are based
on simulation studies conducted by statisticians here at Minitab. To learn more about these studies,
read our Technical Papers.

Parametric analyses Sample size guidelines for nonnormal data

1-sample t test Greater than 20
2-sample t test Each group should be greater than 15
 If you have 2-9 groups, each group
should be greater than 15.
One-Way ANOVA  If you have 10-12 groups, each group
should be greater than 20.

Reason 2: Parametric tests can perform well when the spread of each group is different

While nonparametric tests don’t assume that your data follow a normal distribution, they do have
other assumptions that can be hard to meet. For nonparametric tests that compare groups, a
common assumption is that the data for all groups must have the same spread (dispersion). If your
groups have a different spread, the nonparametric tests might not provide valid results.

On the other hand, if you use the 2-sample t test or One-Way ANOVA, you can simply go to
the Options subdialog and uncheck Assume equal variances. Voilà, you’re good to go even when
the groups have different spreads!

Reason 3: Statistical power

Parametric tests usually have more statistical power than nonparametric tests. Thus, you are more
likely to detect a significant effect when one truly exists.

Reasons to Use Nonparametric Tests

Reason 1: Your area of study is better represented by the median

This is my favorite reason to use a nonparametric test and the one that isn’t mentioned often
enough! The fact that you can perform a parametric test with nonnormal data doesn’t imply that the
mean is the best measure of the central tendency for your data.

For example, the center of a skewed distribution, like income, can be better measured by the median
where 50% are above the median and 50% are below. If you add a few billionaires to a sample, the
mathematical mean increases greatly even though the income for the typical person doesn’t change.

When your distribution is skewed enough, the mean is strongly affected by changes far out in the
distribution’s tail whereas the median continues to more closely reflect the center of the distribution.
For these two distributions, a random sample of 100 from each distribution produces means that are
significantly different, but medians that are not significantly different.

Two of my colleagues have written excellent blog posts that illustrate this point:
  Michelle Paret: Using the Mean in Data Analysis: It’s Not Always a Slam-Dunk
 Redouane Kouiden: The Non-parametric Economy: What Does Average Actually Mean?

Reason 2: You have a very small sample size

If you don’t meet the sample size guidelines for the parametric tests and you are not confident that
you have normally distributed data, you should use a nonparametric test. When you have a really
small sample, you might not even be able to ascertain the distribution of your data because the
distribution tests will lack sufficient power to provide meaningful results.

In this scenario, you’re in a tough spot with no valid alternative. Nonparametric tests have less power
to begin with and it’s a double whammy when you add a small sample size on top of that!

Reason 3: You have ordinal data, ranked data, or outliers that you can’t remove

Typical parametric tests can only assess continuous data and the results can be significantly
affected by outliers. Conversely, some nonparametric tests can handle ordinal data, ranked data,
and not be seriously affected by outliers. Be sure to check the assumptions for the nonparametric
test because each one has its own data requirements.