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Human Subject Research for Engineers pp 41–65Cite as

Statistics

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Part of the book series: SpringerBriefs in Applied Sciences and Technology ((BRIEFSAPPLSCIENCES))

Abstract

After the measurements have been completed, the data have to be statistically analysed. This chapter explains how to analyse data and how to conduct statistical tests. We explain differences between a population and a sample, data distributions, descriptive statistics (i.e., statistics describing a sample: central tendency, variability, effect sizes—including Cohen’s d and correlation coefficients), and inferential statistics (i.e., statistics are used to infer characteristics of a population based on a sample that is taken from this population: standard error of the mean, null hypothesis significance testing, univariate and multivariate statistics). We draw attention to pitfalls that may occur in statistical analyses, such as misinterpretations of null hypothesis significance testing and false positives. Attention is also drawn to questionable research practices and their remedies. Replicability of research is also discussed, and recommendations for maximizing replicability are provided.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of BioMechanical Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands

    Joost C. F. de Winter

  2. Department of BioMechanical Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands

    Dimitra Dodou

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  1. Joost C. F. de Winter
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  2. Dimitra Dodou
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Correspondence to Joost C. F. de Winter .

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de Winter, J.C.F., Dodou, D. (2017). Statistics. In: Human Subject Research for Engineers . SpringerBriefs in Applied Sciences and Technology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56964-2_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56964-2_3

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