Executing z-tests by using chi-square tests in SPSS

Imagine that a researcher is interested in testing the claim that vitamin C helps prevent one
from catching a cold. 500 subjects are recruited just before cold season and given a bottle of 120
pills that are either a placebo (n = 250) or a substantial dose of vitamin C (n = 250). They are
instructed to take one pill per day. They are further instructed that they should eat, exercise, and
so on as usual. At the end of the four-month period, each subject is asked yes or no if they
caught at least one cold in the interim. Of the placebo group, 75 (75 / 250 = .30) report having
caught a cold, and in the vitamin C group, 65 (65 / 250 = .26) report having caught a cold. Is
there enough evidence to conclude that vitamin C reduces the incidence of the common cold?
One way to address this is with a z-test for to compare proportions for independent groups. The
formula
1
for this is below (where p1 is the proportion of subjects in group 1 who have a cold, and
p2 is the same for group 2, and n1 and n2 are sample sizes):
=
(
1

2
)

1
(1
1
)

1
+

2
(1
2
)

2
=
. 3 .26

. 3(.7)
250
+
. 26(.74)
250
= 0.997
This formula is a bit of work to use, and has a pretty high probability of leading to (human) error.
SPSS allows you to do test the same hypothesis using a different statistic, chi-square, which is
closely related to z (z
2
=
2
) when the DV is measured in a binary fashion. To carry out this chi-
square test of independence
2
, enter the data as illustrated at left. I recommend creating value
labels for group and cold so that the data look like at right.






From here, go to Data > Weight Cases, select Weight cases by and move the count variable (f) to
the Frequency Variable box.
Then click OK. Now go to
Analyze > Descriptive
Statistics > Crosstabs. Put
one variable (e.g., group)
into Row(s) and the other
into Column(s). Click the
Statistics button and make
sure Chi-square is checked.
You'll get some output like
that at right. Of particular
interest is the row labeled Pearson Chi-Square. The value of chi-square is 0.992 (which is equal to
z
2
), and it's significance value is .319, which is not less than the conventional .05 level, and
therefore there is no significant difference between the two groups.

1
If you look around, you will find that there is an alternative version of this formula that uses a
pooled proportion (p = p1*n1 + p2*n2) / (n1 + n2) in place of p1 and p2.
2
This is called a test of independence because we are interested in seeing whether the status of
having a cold (or not) is dependent on having taken vitamin C or not.
Chi-Square Tests
.992
b
1 .319
.804 1 .370
.993 1 .319
.370 .185
.990 1 .320
500
Pearson Chi-Square
Continuity Correction
a
Likelihood Ratio
Fisher's Exact Test
Linear-by-Linear
Association
N of Valid Cases
Value df
Asy mp. Sig.
(2-sided)
Exact Sig.
(2-sided)
Exact Sig.
(1-sided)
Computed only f or a 2x2 table
a.
0 cells (.0%) hav e expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 70.
00.
b.
Now give this a try on your own to answer the following question: Howell and Huessy (1981)
used a rating scale to classify children in a second-grade class as showing or not showing
behavior commonly associated with attention deficit disorder (ADD). The researchers then
classified the same children again when they were in fourth and fifth grades. When the children
reached the end of the ninth grade, the researchers examined school records and noted which
children were enrolled in remedial English. In the following data, all children who were ever
classified as exhibiting behavior associated with ADD have been combined into one group
(labeled ADD):
remedial English non-remedial English
proportion in
remedial English
no ADD 22 187 .105
ADD 19 74 .204

Use the chi-square test of independence to examine whether behavior during elementary school
is related to later placement in remedial English classes. Please export the Chi-Square Tests table
into a Word file and add a brief conclusion that looks something like this: "There was (not) a
significant difference in assignment to remedial English based on whether earlier ADD behavior
was present or not,
2
(1) = ???, p = ???." If there is a significant difference, be sure to add some
words to the conclusion that say something about which group had higher or lower assignment
to remedial English classes. You would never say there is merely a significant effect without
telling your reader what the effect is, would you? After you finish with you conclusion, please
email the file to me.