Forum Discussion
Different values of the mean
I'm getting different answers for for means, variances, and P values when I use the AVERAGE, VAR, T.TEST, and Analysis ToolPak. I get that difference when I use my data and when I use the data in an example provided by Microsoft (the data given in https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/t-test-function-d4e08ec3-c545-485f-962e-276f7cbed055; see also attached file). I am using MSExcel 2016, 64-bit.
What could be happening? What am I forgetting?
Paul
PS. Formulas ought to be formulae!
2 Replies
You problably ticked the check box "Labels" in the t-Test: Paired Two Sample for Means dialog. As a result, B3 and C3 were treated as headers (see F5 and G5), and all statistics refer to B4:B11 and C4:C11 instead of B3:B11 and C3:C11.
If I leave the "Labels" check box clear, I get the same results as the formulas:
- Many thanks, Hans. Yes, that is what I did. I misinterpreted 'label', thinking that the output information would be appropriately labeled. I see more and more instances of ambiguity (understood by the initiated) and polysemy in maths and the natural sciences (I'm a metallurgist) than I ever did before. Paul
