UX for the Web

Deciding which statistical test to use

To decide which statistical test to use to calculate your result, first work out whether your data is discrete or continuous:

• Discrete data consists of specific options, for example yes/no, pass/fail
• Continuous data is information that is measured on a scale and can have any value along that scale

For discrete data, we are often trying to work out whether the number of people who chose an option or passed/failed is significantly different to a benchmark or another group's value. A chi-squared test would usually be used for comparing groups and a binomial test for comparing against a benchmark.

For continuous data, we are often trying to work out whether two sets of values are significantly different ...