Rich Ulrich seemed to utter in news:4h2p8vsse923delqtbh3ooqv76fttiv66l@
4ax.com:
> On 3 Apr 2003 19:13:43 GMT, trw7atixdotnetcomdotcom (Tim Witort)
> wrote:
>
>> I'm developing a report in an analysis program.
>> This report examines employee salaries - comparing
>> the salaries of men to those of women in a particular
>> job title in a particular company. The goal is to
>> determine if the difference in their mean salaries
>> is statistically significant.
>>
>> I have been directed to the t-test to gather this
>> information. When I look at the t-test, however,
>> it appears to be geared toward *estimating* the
>> difference in the means of a population based on
>> a *sample* of the population. Since I am using
>> the entire population, can I still use the t-test
>> to determine if the difference in the means is
>> statistically significant? Is there another test
>> that should be used instead?
>>
>
> Use the regular t-test.
>
> There is such a thing as correction for
> "finite population" but it is hardly ever appropriate.
>
> It certainly is not, in the instance *you* describe:
> With 100% sampled, there is no "correction";
> *you* would simply conclude A is greater than B whenever
> A is measured as greater than B.
>
> Taking votes and ordering supplies... you might use a
> finite-sample correction to further those purposes,
> if you have a survey that is (a) incomplete;
> and (b) randomly chosen, for what is complete.
>
> You can use groups.google.com , advanced, to look
> in the sci.stat.* groups for the topic.
>
Thanks, Rich. You have confirmed what others here
have said. I appreciate the clarification.
-- TRW
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My e-mail: t r w 7
@ i x . n e t c o m . c o m
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