We can also use a 2-Sample t-test from the Assistant menu. Like the other Assistant tools, this provides a simpler interface and graphical report cards for the output. Here we will use the Pulse dataset as shown in the earlier example. We will compare the results of Pulse2 with the groups in the Ran column.
The following steps will help us compare the mean pulse rates of two groups of students using the Assistant tools. Initially, we will unstack the data before running the t-test:
- To open the worksheet, go to the File menu and select Open Worksheet….
- Click on the Look in Minitab Sample Data folder button.
- Open the
Pulse.mtwworksheet. - Go to the Data menu and select Unstack Columns….
- Enter the Pulse2 column in the Unstack the data in: field.
- Enter the Ran column in the Using subscripts in: section.
- Click on OK.
- Go to the Assistant menu and select Hypothesis Tests….
- Select 2-Sample t.
- In the dropdown for How are your data arranged in the worksheet?, select the option for Each sample is in it own column.
- Enter the Pulse2_1 column in the section First sample column:.
- Enter the column Pulse2_2 in the Second sample column: section.
- Choose the option for Is the first mean of 'Pulse2_1' different from the mean of 'Pulse2_2'?.
- Click on OK.
The unstacked columns can be used to put the unstacked data into a new worksheet or after the last columns of the current worksheet. By default, it will name the new columns using the name of the unstacked column along with the grouping value used to unstack the data. Here, the grouping column for Ran has the levels 1 or 2. So, the columns are named Pulse2_1 and Pulse2_2.
In Minitab v17, we could also have used the data without unstacking the columns using the Both samples are in one column, IDs are in another column. option.
Assistant can also be used to help pick the type of test to be used with the Help me choose selection.