This is the Ecology Stats Guide (BIO 211). Below are the lists of tests that you could use in this course. The Stats Road Map below can help you figure out what test you should use. You can run through each test by following the link under “Method”. If you want to run through the example provided for each test, you can download each Excel file under “Task” for that test.
Stats Road Map
Click on the STATS ROAD MAP to help you figure out what test you should use.
Table of statistical tests
| Task | Variables | Method |
|---|---|---|
| Compare two means *download excel file for this test here | Response: 1 continuous Explanatory: 1 categorical with exactly 2 levels | 2-sample t-test |
| Compare two means when measurements are taken in pairs *download excel file for this test here | Response: 1 continuous Explanatory: 1 categorical with exactly 2 levels | paired t-test |
| Compare means across more than two groups *download excel file for this test here | Response: 1 continuous Explanatory: 1 categorical | 1-way ANOVA |
| Compare means across two categorical variables *download excel file for this test here | Response: 1 continuous Explanatory: 2 categorical | 2-way ANOVA |
| Test the count distribution of a categorical variable | 1 categorical variable | chi-square goodness of fit test |
| Test for independence of two categorical variables | 2 categorical variables | chi-square test of independence |
| Estimate the strength of linear association between two continuous variables *download excel file for this test here | 2 continuous variables | correlation |
| Describe the linear association between two continuous variables *download excel file for this test here | Response: 1 continuous Explanatory: 1 continuous | simple linear regression |
| Compare two regression lines *download excel file for this test here | Response: 1 continuous Explanatory: 1 continuous and 1 categorical | ANCOVA |