SPSS TUTORIAL 6_ONE SAMPLE T-TEST

Run a One Sample t Test

To run a One Sample t Test in SPSS, click Analyze > Compare Means > One-Sample T Test.

The One-Sample T Test window opens where you will specify the variables to be used in the
analysis. All of the variables in your dataset appear in the list on the left side. Move variables to
the Test Variable(s) area by selecting them in the list and clicking the blue arrow button.

A. Test Variable(s): The variable whose mean will be compared to the hypothesized population
mean (i.e., Test Value). You may run multiple One Sample t Tests simultaneously by selecting
more than one test variable. Each variable will be compared to the same Test Value.
B. Test Value: The hypothesized population mean against which your test variable(s) will be
compared.

C. Options: Clicking Options will open a window where you can specify the Confidence
Interval Percentage and how the analysis will address Missing Values (i.e., Exclude cases
analysis by analysis or Exclude cases listwise). Click Continue when you are finished making
specifications.

Click OK to run the One Sample t Test

Example:
Comparing the average score on a standardized test in Ohio to the national average
Previous research indicates that the average score on a national standardized test for college
students is 75. However, state officials wish to know whether the average score for students in
Ohio is significantly different than the nations average score. A One Sample t Test can compare
the mean test score in Ohio to the national average.

Null hypothesis:
the Ohio test mean is equal to 75
H0: =75 xOhio
Alternative hypothesis:

H1:

75 xOhio

the Ohio test mean is not equal to 75

where 75 is the national average and xOhio is the mean for the Ohio sample.
In the sample data, we will use the variable Test_1. The variable Test_1 is a continuous measure
representing each respondents score on a national test. The test scores exhibit a range of values
from 61.96 to 100 (Analyze > Descriptive Statistics > Descriptives). We obtain the Test Value
(the hypothesized mean for the population) from publicly available documentation indicating
that the national average for the test is 75. In SPSS, the data look like this:

To run the One Sample t Test, click Analyze > Compare Means > One-Sample T Test.
Move the variable Test_1 to the Test Variable(s) area. In the Test Value field, type 75,
which is the national average for the test.

Click OK to run the One Sample t Test. Output for the analysis will display in the Output
Viewer.
Two sections (boxes) appear in the output: One-Sample Statistics and One-Sample Test. The first
section, One-Sample Statistics, provides basic information about the selected variable, Test_1,
including the sample size (n), mean, standard deviation, and standard error mean. In this
example, the mean score for the test among Ohio students is 80.81.

The second section, One-Sample Test, displays the results most relevant to the One Sample t
Test.

Note that the hypothesized population mean, 75, appears at the top (Test Value = 75) in order
to specify the population mean against which the sample mean is compared.
In this example, t = 7.260. Note that t is calculated by dividing the mean difference by the
standard error mean.

Note that the mean difference in tests scores between the sample and the population is 5.81. The
mean difference is calculated by subtracting the hypothesized population mean (expected
average) from the sample mean (observed average). In this example, the mean test score for

the population, 75, was subtracted from the mean test score for the sample, 80.81. The sign of the
mean difference indicates the sign of the t value. The positive t value in this example indicates
that the mean test score for the sample (Ohio) is significantly greater than the mean test score for
the population (national average).
The associated p value is .000 (2-tailed test). Since p = .000 (or p < 0.001), we reject the null
hypothesis that the population mean is equal to the sample mean and conclude that there is a
significant difference in mean test scores between the Ohio student sample and the national
population of students.

Based on the results, we can state the following:

The average test score for the Ohio sample is about 6 points higher than the average test
score for the national population.
There is a significant difference in mean test scores between the Ohio sample and the
national population (p = .000).

SPSS Tutorial 6