As mentioned previously, experimental methods can be a matter of dispute: there can be as many views of the “correct” way to run an experiment as there are experimenters. Such disagreements are most obvious in the approach taken to statistical analysis of data: everyone has their own favourite method, there can be many different valid ways to analyse data, and even statisticians do not always agree on the best approach.

This chapter is not intended to be a statistics primer: it simply describes the statistics tests that I find most useful in analysing data and shows examples of their application. It does not discuss any theoretical aspects of these tests or why they “work.” Rather, it is a practical guide that will enable an experimenter to make considerable headway with some simple analyses, and to be able to consult a statistics text for more information with confidence.

In most cases, these tests will be sufficient for answering the type of research questions discussed so far. Other analyses may require reference to a good statistics book or guidance from a statistics consultant.