Choosing a Statistical Test for Your IB Biology IA

[@danielm9463]

One small caveat: in broader mathematics, "number of bacterial colonies" would be treated as a *discrete variable*, which means the variable is numeric but it's restricted to certain values (and between those allowable values are gaps that the variable can't take on). But if you're plugging that variable into a regression or t-test/ANOVA model, then you're treating it as continuous. To quote minitab, which has great articles on statistics: "If you have a discrete variable and you want to include it in a Regression or ANOVA model, you can decide whether to treat it as a continuous predictor (covariate) or categorical predictor (factor). If the discrete variable has many levels, then it may be best to treat it as a continuous variable. Treating a predictor as a continuous variable implies that a simple linear or polynomial function can adequately describe the relationship between the response and the predictor. When you treat a predictor as a categorical variable, a distinct response value is fit to each level of the variable without regard to the order of the predictor levels. Use this information, in addition to the purpose of your analysis to decide what is best for your situation." support.minitab.com/en-us/minitab-express/1/help-and-how-to/modeling-statistics/regression/supporting-topics/basics/what-are-categorical-discrete-and-continuous-variables/

[@madipsychomadi3144]

thank you very much for your generous response.

[@felixokatch4587]

Good

[@danielm9463]

​@Raggul Kanakasabapathy, it sounds like it could go either way. I'm not an expert by any means, but I think you would decide whether to treat the independent variable as categorical vs continuous by asking questions like "do I expect a linear relationship between the input and output, such that more of the independent variable consistently leads to more/less of the dependent variable?" I think you can also ask questions like "for the purposes of my study, do I care about the *relationship* that the independent variable has to the dependent variable, or do I care about finding e.g. a single dose that is therapeutically significant?" Do you have reasons to expect that salt has a linear relationship (positive or negative) with plant growth? Are you interested in the specific nature of that linear relationship (e.g., is your goal is to say "for every 1 g of salt, the leaves grow X cm longer")? If so, then it might make more sense to treat mass as continuous. Alternatively, are you looking for whether a particular mass of salt exists which provides a statistically significant growth effect? Are there reasons why too little salt could inhibit growth, and too much salt could inhibit growth, but maybe there's a salt mass in the middle that could balance multiple biological factors and yield the most growth? If so, then it might make more sense to treat mass as categorical. The fact that you described 0 g of salt as the "control group" already suggests to me that you might be looking to compare salt vs. no salt, and the reason you have different amounts of salt is to help answer the question "do plants grow more effectively with salt than without salt?" In other words, having a control group suggests that you're not looking for the specific nature of a hypothesized linear relationship between amount of salt and amount of growth. I've never taught IB Bio, but I did teach IB Physics. If you're writing an IB Biology IA, I would think it's worthwhile to explain how you're analyzing your data and justify why you chose to treat the independent variable as categorical vs. continuous. If you choose to treat mass as categorical, then you've got a categorical independent variable and a continuous dependent variable--what test would you use in that circumstance? If you treat mass as numerical, then both the IV and DV are continuous--what test would you use in that circumstance? (By the way, you can still do a regression with a categorical independent variable, but that's not really done in IB Biology, and it sounds like this might not make sense in your case. Here's what it would entail. For each dose, you'd essentially have a different dummy variable that takes on a value of 0 or 1. So the variable m_1g would be 0 or 1, and the coefficient would tell you how much more/less growth the plant had compared to 0 g when 1 g of salt was added. The variable m_2g would similarly take on values of either 0 or 1, etc.) Another quick thing--if you go the route of performing multiple t tests (to compare each salt mass to the control group), then you want to watch out for family-wise error. You can do a quick Google search to see what this is. This is usually dealt with by lowering the p value that you need in order to reject the null hypothesis. For example, if you do 5 t-tests, and you'd normally use p < 0.05 as your significance level, then you might instead calculate 0.05/5 and use p < 0.01 as the significance level for each test, since performing multiple tests increases the likelihood of a false positive. There are different ways to account for this family-wise error, and the appropriate approach depends on the class you're in and how rigorous the statistics element is.

[@danielm9463]

@Raggul Kanakasabapathy Since it's an IA, I can't quite give you a direct answer--that will be up to you. All I'll say is that it sounds like you're saying you have a continuous IV, a continuous DV, and you seek the mathematical relationship. if you go the route of regression, I have a few thoughts: (a) I think regression and mathematical relationships are less common in IB Bio IAs. Because of that, I recommend asking your teacher if you're on the right track and if you have a suitable topic, question, and statistical analysis approach. (b) If you go the route of regression, I think you will want to be careful about how you phrase your research question. If your understanding is that regression is appropriate when seeking a mathematical relationship between a continuous IV and a continuous DV, then you want to phrase your research question as seeking that *mathematical* relationship between the variables. (c) In all of it, the ultimate goal is to use the analysis as a mechanism to talk about in-depth Biology analysis. So if you find a negative linear relationship, then you want to use the Biology you've learned to try and explain, in depth, *why* that relationship exists. (d) Since I've never taught IB Bio, definitely have a conversation with your teacher about all of this. The advice I'm giving you is good for IB Physics, but I'm not sure how much of it translates over to Biology.

[@danielm9463]

@Raggul Kanakasabapathy Hi Raggul, I was curious how your IA turned out! Were you happy with the final product?

[@RG-sl6ix]

Finally, the sky is clear....

[@tekmepikcha6830]

This is perhaps the most simpliest and yet full tutorial I've heard on statistical tests LOL.....Well put together Daniel. Thanks

[@danielm9463]

Thanks for the kind message! I'm glad it was helpful

[@mariabelenvargassanmartin2314]

FACTS

[@robingriffin42]

9:57 minute video vs 6 weeks of lectures...just wow!

[@Tiatabs13]

I have all this data I’ve collected for my masters thesis, I’ve been looking for a test to use for two days. This video, hands down, has just saved my life. THANK YOU!!!

[@jaleelhull941]

how did it go

[@14MCDLXXXVIII88]

This is by far the best material about SPSS I've ever seen in my whole life. Throw 100$ SPSS books into trash can. This video is very beautiful in a minimalist way. Greetings from a procrastinator doctor, who is trying to hurry analysis at 07:00 AM for the finish date of a paper :-)

[@rodsalomon6524]

Im from the Linguistics field in this is still helpful for my thesis, thank you!

[@mmmm7656]

Thanks to Allah.. I have found someone who is teaching the basics..I needed it badly

[@asmasultana2732]

Hello. I need some help from you

[@mmmm7656]

@@asmasultana2732 yes

[@danielm9463]

I'm glad it helped! I often need the basics too. This is a good starting place, but this video really does make some simplifications, and as you study more, you'll see that things aren't always so clear cut. I'm glad it helped!

[@view5558]

After struggling for years trying to figure out about the necessity of so many statistical tests, finally I have an overview of statistical tools an how to choose one from.

[@Lydia-yo4lo]

Thank you so much for this video! Simple, concise, well organised -- it's rare to see such a well-made tutorial to a somewhat confusing topic such as this, amazing :)

[@asmaaadventures1791]

Wow! I cannot express how much I am grateful to you for making this video. I spent one week figuring out which suitable statistical test was for my case. THANK YOU

[@LnPlayEng]

Man, this guy nailed it. I fumbled in my undergrad research. I wish this was available to me then. Thank you, Sir.

[@view5558]

After struggling for years trying to figure out about the necessity of Sr many statistical tests, finally I have an overview of statistical tools an how to choose one from.

[@jodieharth]

Thank you! Was recommended for Business Data Analytics. 4:08 is particularly useful if you're wondering what sort of test to use (or, what it's called!) Chi-Squared / t-Test / Correlation.

Haters will say this clip is way too simple, I will respond yes that’s why it’s almost perfect.

[@danielelieh-ali-komi6544]

This video includes more data and has better educational content than what I learned in my MSc. Thank you Daniel.

[@kteforeal]

I'm slow when it comes to math (like "if johnny has 5 apples" type slow) and this breakdown finally made things clear

[@danielm9463]

Don't hesitate to post any questions you have about your work or what you're studying!

[@1990poulami]

I watched so many videos on this topic. But this is the best explanation so far. Thank you so much

[@saggrawal]

An amazingly simple description of statistical tests. Thank you so much!

[@happyshappys]

Simple, easy and best and proper way to have quick notes

[@novaxgreed2828]

This video basically summarized two semesters of my statistics subject ngl.

[@v9054]

I fell in love with the way you explained both the qualitative and quantitative techniques.

[@danielm9463]

Thanks Venu!

[@darrenzerone765]

Statistics are so simple and easy to understand after your wonderful explanation. Thank you for this amazing video.

[@chaqsakhatanachaqsakhatana2325]

Stat is not easy subject 😭😒

[@Sarmilagiri12]

The most simpliest and useful tutorial i ever heard and seen. Thank you soo much for giving us such a wonderful lessons. 😊😊😊

[@kaliswarijawacar1501]

I am not clear about which technique is used for the which study before observing this video. Now I clear about it . Thank you sir

[@donharris8846]

For a broad perspective, this is a remarkable video. Nice work! This helps a lot

[@danielm9463]

Thanks so much, Don!

[@m-tron5966]

The Simplest and Most Comprehensive Demonstration of Tests...Thank You

[@tessaowens]

Correlation can be used on categorical data too! Not just continuous data.

[@jincymathewm362]

Yes, spearmans rank correlation

[@mrkhan.881]

Yes. But the dependent variable should always be continuous variable. And if the independent variable is Nominal then use Phi coefficient test and if ordinal then use Spearman.

[@danielm9463]

@@mrkhan.881 That's true for linear regression. Other regressions (e.g., logistic regression) do permit the dependent variable to be categorical.

[@danielm9463]

@Tessa Owens, it's a good point. Really, a lot of the dichotomies in this intro video disappear in higher-level stats. You can reproduce the same p-values in Anova as a regression model, and you can set up dummy/indicator variables to encode categorical variables. The main audience for this video is high schoolers who haven't learned any stats but are expected to use it in their IB Biology IA.

[@danielm9463]

@@jincymathewm362 It's a good point. I've intentionally avoided ordinal data in this video because it really is a separate category from a stats perspective and usually requires nonparametric methods. Fortunately IB Bio high schoolers aren't expected to use it!

[@marjiehoss1498]

I wish you taught me Econometrics. Thank you for this.

[@michalinaprycka3692]

This video has helped me more than my biology teacher, love you man

[@danielm9463]

Glad it helped! I sympathize with IB Bio teachers! They're expected to teach statistics, but it's not part of the curriculum!

[@yusronnaim]

half semester of my statistics class didnt give such comprehension, thank you for this well put video.

[@NileSon123]

Best video I watched in statistics especially in experimental designs Thank you very much for that simple and valuable information

[@naziya9967]

Iam from india , teaching research to post graduate students of education department.feel very helpful to understand overall category /families of statistics test.very excellent content of video 👍👍👍👍

[@ottobena]

Simply the best and clearest explanation video.

[@s1lverhawk]

From the bottom of my heart THANK YOU for this

[@maria_yourKARMA]

I like how the simplicity of your content, keep it up.

[@datapeek]

I watched many videos on Hypothesis tests and always left with some sort of confusion. But you made it really simple. 🔥

[@solomiiak1779]

Thank you sooo much for this video! It saved my life!I spent so many days trying to understand which test I should use for my master's thesis. You explained VERY well and simple! Thank you again.

[@flyingfox707b]

Very succinct and well put together. Thank you, Daniel!

[@tameka4100]

your english is impeccable. i can clearly hear the proper pronunciation and enunciation. Concept is well explained.

[@danielm9463]

It's funny--I think people think I'm smarter than I am because I enunciate well :)

[@mainecervillon5437]

Thanks for making it super simple, clear, and easy to understand!

[@Abdul-io8xh]

You are so amazing! So simple yet eloquent!! you KNOW how to teach stats.

[@battlemud577]

Omg... I am a year 5 dental student and this vdo finally opened my mind...

[@_kaira4130]

The way to generalize test in a table is amazing!! Thanks! It really really helps a lot!

[@danielm9463]

Glad it helped! Just don't miss the correction I mentioned in the description

[@justiceoforiatta6826]

Thanks for enlighten me on how to choose these statistical tests. I will be grateful to learn more.

[@kerrielashley]

Thank you for this video. You did a great job of explaining the various statistical tests and their applicability.

[@dr.ujjvalrana5261]

Thorugh and simple to understand. Thanks

[@scarsmakestars]

I'm in IB Sports Exercise and Health Science but this video helped a lot for choosing the test for my IA. Thanks!

[@razwanulislamasif1190]

best ever discussion in truly simple way. love from Bangladesh🇧🇩🇧🇩🇧🇩

[@sebastianheuchler436]

Very brief and to the point. Great for a reasonable first overview of these topics. Thanks

[@sowmyaramaswamy6686]

So helpful. Thank you! The basics make it easy to understand everything

[@anthonyoni4751]

I don't know how you did it but you have helped me to know this better.

[@WrenStanchen]

This helped me a lot, and I'm taking a graduate level class. Thank you!

[@ainazarmstrong5615]

This video perfectly cleared everything up, thank you so much.

[@sallsall3]

I also use chi square test for my accounting research bcz it has nominal and ordinal scale Not just for biology subject

[@mellizacosminatan7173]

Thank you so much, this is really helpful. I am even able to understand my own research thoroughly without thinking what was the reason why is it not relationship based.

[@arushikumar3044]

This video is so well made! Thank you for your effort. It's really helping us out.

[@danielm9463]

Very glad to hear that! Check out the caveats I pinned at the top of the comments. Feel free to ask questions!

[@alziraangeli9707]

Awesome video! Thank you so much, Professor! Cheers from Brazil!

[@whoasked6147]

THANK U SO MUCH HUHUHU I HOPE I PASS MY TEST NEXT WEEK❤❤

[@shahidbud3862]

Comprehensive and over simplified.A great video.

[@zucledesma]

Very clear explanation. Thank you so much.

[@danielm9463]

Glad it helped!

[@dirkaloha]

Reaffirmed what I am beginning to grasp. Thank you!

[@zaina9011]

Best ever teaching technique....

[@roopalivs6782]

Beautifully explained and simplified...... keep going 👍🏾

[@specwraith5734]

actually using this for my math IA. whish I saw this video when I was writing my Bio IA.

[@danielm9463]

Good luck!

[@specwraith5734]

@@danielm9463 thanks :)

[@erwincarlogonzales]

This video is golden for MS and PhD students

[@danielm9463]

I'm glad it's helpful! If you're an MS or PhD student, it could be useful for big-picture frameworks. But just a word of caution--it does make some simplifications. I've gotten comments from grad school professors that the distinctions here are less valid at a more advanced level, and that this video ignores e.g. generalized linear models, which extend regression to categorical variables. Those things are all true, but they're too advanced for an introductory level. I made this video for high school students with no background in statistics who have the task of determining an appropriate statistical test to use for their research project.

[@PriitPauklin]

Great job! It helped a lot in explaining the basics! Nice work!

[@kenmakozume4781]

I'm homeschooled and we were tasked with an experimental quantitative research. It is my first research and I'm all by myself. Thank you so much for your simple explanation! You saved me big time. My teacher dosent teach and her modules are hard to understand. Now, I have an idea what statistical analysis I should use for my experiment. Many many thanks again🙏

[@danielm9463]

Feel free to post a comment if you have any specific questions about your research!

[@kenmakozume4781]

@@danielm9463 My research is about aquaponics, how fish waste affects the growth of a plant, specifically Gotu Kola. My experiment will use two containers with different number of fishes to manipulate the amount of fish waste and both have one sample of Gotu Kola. Should I use correlation or t test? Thank you for you Ur reply :)

[@danielm9463]

​@@kenmakozume4781 This sounds really interesting. There might be a couple ways you could take it. Do you have a way to measure the mass/volume of fish waste, or is the plan to count the number of fish? I'm also curious how you're measuring plant growth--is this done on e.g. a daily basis or at the end of a fixed study period? One rule of thumb is that you need ~10 points minimum for correlation or simple linear regression, although you can often get away with fewer data points. ("Simple" linear regression just means there's a single dependent variable and a single independent variable.) So t-test might tend to be more natural for that reason, unless you're planning to collect repeated measures for each tank. If you do a t-test, you're treating your independent variable as categorical, almost as though you simply labeled one "high waste tank" and the other "low waste tank."

[@kenmakozume4781]

@@danielm9463 thank you for the kind compliment. I measure the fish waste amount by weighing scale(grams) and by counting the fish but the scale is more specific. I will be observing the samples for four weeks. Particularly, measuring the diameter and height of the largest and smallest Gotu Kola. Is that a t test??

[@danielm9463]

@@kenmakozume4781 it sounds like you might have two different independent variables, and possibly two different dependent variables. You'll either have to pick one of each, or simply have a few different research questions, each of which you answer separately through a different statistical analysis (e.g., #1 does mass of fish waste impact diameter of..., #2 does mass of fish waste impact height of..., etc.). Are you measuring the samples periodically (e.g., at 0 weeks, 0.5 weeks, 1.0 weeks, 1.5 weeks, ... 4 weeks), or are you measuring just at the beginning and the end (i.e., at 0 weeks and at 4 weeks)?

[@BiotechArab]

Bravo! It is just the thing I needed to refresh my background after a long break

[@NinjaCoderInTraining]

Thanks man. Best explanation I've seen so far 👍

[@marwaa.6759]

simply perfect and clear explanation . Thanks for your great effort

[@rediettekle7377]

Wow this simplified everything so much, thank you

[@andrealopez5541]

I'm so mad, how in the world I just found this tutorial when the semester is about to end 😢😢

[@mylearning7504]

Best video on statistical tests

[@elaineli5844]

currently doing my BIO IA. thank you

[@joyofall30]

Just starting to watch the video and loving your video

[@Melissa_Official454]

One of the best explanations. Thanks much.

[@naziya9967]

Definitely I will make notes of this video.

[@preetamgurav4139]

Sooo good I literally cried

[@spongesu]

I could say YOU’VE SAVED MY LIFE 〰️🥹

[@christophers.villaraza2841]

Crystal clear explanation!

[@danielm9463]

Thank you!

[@sadiamira8957]

thank you!! i need to use this info in my bio enzyme productivity analysis thesis!

[@patkatiduh4768]

I have never understood it this way.

[@zihao8027]

tysm!! i would've had a breakdown if not for your video 🤧 also, the dun dun dun at 0:08 made me laugh so thanks for that too

[@bruceliebewilma]

Why I am still looking at these as a graduated Master Student :D So these things, if we don't use very often, we human will soon forget it. That's why I come back and refresh my knowledge.

[@danielm9463]

I could not agree more!!

[@patriciakyledones461]

Helpful for other fields of study as well

[@rekharana6562]

Although the video is in English and my native language is Hindi, but I found it very much clear and informative.... thank you so much

[@dileepchoudhary3733]

Thanks for the explanation. 👍 Appreciate your efforts.

[@bibekmalla8027]

Best teaching method

[@gulmirakussaiynkyzy7134]

Thank you very much for the simplest explanation

[@DrAamir580]

Sir you just nailed this video, you made me so damn clear about correlation. Thanks alot for your precious video😍

[@severtone263]

Beautifully explained Daniel. Thank you

[@mohammadsaifuddin5724]

As simple as it can be...Thank you so much

[@manaypopeye7716]

This helps me a lot. Im going to use this on my report

[@AnubhutiSingh-t2f]

Very useful and clearly put information. Thanks

[@smitatharkar6798]

Great video, I understood the concept clearly.. thanks alot!

[@IanPaulSaligumba]

Amazing video

[@deepakkakara23]

Thanks a lot for making me understand a lot better. Thank you once again.

[@dharris6357]

Best summary video ever!!

[@danielm9463]

Thank you!!

[@dharris6357]

@@danielm9463 The world needs an @danielm9463 full statistics course series. I’m taking a statistics for the social studies. I’ve watched tons of videos on KZbin. I’ve not seen a tutorial done this well. So, we need more! You’ve got a gift ❤️

[@danielm9463]

​@@dharris6357 ❤❤❤ thank you!! I would love to make a full stats video series and hope to have time for that some day soon. What types of topics do you think would be most useful? Given that you study stats in your class already, is it the big-picture overview that is most useful, or would it be helpful to have videos on the mechanics of e.g. how to do a t-test and why/how it gets modified when there are unequal sample sizes, unequal variances, etc.? Or is it more helpful have videos with big-picture overview / how to look at different scenarios and see which test would apply?

[@drimrangul]

Absolutely wonderful...!!!