ABSTRACT
Since becoming interested in statistics, I have had my colleagues occasionally send me their students who are working on an experiment for their thesis. “Help them with their statistics!” my colleagues plead. These novice researchers know conceptually what they want to test, but empirically are not sure how to go about designing an experiment that involves statistical analysis. For example, the student may know they want to test whether listeners will rate some accents as more desirable than others, but they do not know where to go from there. This chapter contains information that is essential in understanding how to do an experimental project. This chapter does not explain what test you will want to use to evaluate your data statistically (that will come later), but it covers the basic concepts that are necessary to understanding what test you will need. This will give those who are new to experimental design and statistics a brief overview of some of the basic issues that must be understood in order to carry out a statistical analysis. These concepts may not seem like “common sense” (a reference to the quotation at the beginning of the chapter) yet, but doing statistics should not be mysterious hand-waving that results in a “statistically significant” finding. You need to understand your numbers and understand what you are testing when you use statistics. This chapter is a start to that understanding.
