Introduction > Step-by-Step Statistics > Now You've Mastered the Basics > Choosing Your Analysis

Choosing Your Analysis Using the examples of student projects below, can you identify the explanatory and response variables and therefore what statistical test should be used? Paula has conducted an experiment to determine the relationship between spring temperature and the number of flowers produced by Rosa spp. She exposed plants to a range of spring temperatures, using existing literature to choose her treatments. Paul is investigating the effects of manual defoliation on the number of fruit produced by each Malus domestica in the spring. Plants were defoliated by hand either on 20th August, 25th August, 30th August, 5th September or 10th September. Julia is investigating the hypothesis that soil nitrogen concentration is positively correlated with plant community productivity. She has identified 20 soil plots with varying levels of soil nitrogen concentration and subsequently measured the biomass. Mary is researching the effects of habitat on the number of Lesser Horseshoe bats observed in an evening. She chooses four habitats (city, suburban, semi-rural and rural) and spends Monday evenings at each site counting the number of bat she sees.

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