Question

Hi, I am proposing a research study that looks at the effects of mindfulness on stress reduction. There are 64 participants. 32 control group and 32 experimental group. The 32 experimental will receive the treatment: 8 week Mindfulness based stress reduction course (MBSR) All participants will fill out a Perceived stress scale survey before and after data collection . The results will show a significant decrease in perceived stress among the experimental group. So, my question is: What sort of statistical procedure and analysis will I use to explain the results? Is it a t-test? I am confused, help!

Answer 1

Question asked:

What sort of statistical procedure and analysis will I use to explain the results? Is it a t-test?

Answer:

The Dependent t - test (also called the paired samples t - test)

Explanation:

Here, the 2 Samples: Perceived stress levels before and after data collection are not independent. They are correlated pairs because measurements are taken from the same participant twice: once before data collection and then after data collection.

Since population standard deviation is unknown, we cannot apply Z score but we have to use only t statistic.