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The Dodecahedron: ‘Just because you have a choice, it doesn’t mean that any of them has to be right’.

Statistical tests enable you to analyze data in order to decide whether or not it is sensible to accept your hypothesis. There are literally thousands of values that can be calculated from hundreds of tests, but unless you know which test to choose, the values that you calculate may not be appropriate or meaningful. One of the main aims of this book is to help you learn to choose the test which is right for the given research problem. Once you have decided which test is appropriate for your data, the calculation is a straightforward manipulation of numbers. It is vitally important, however, to learn which data to use, how the manipulation is carried out, and how it relates to the theoretical basis which will enable you to make the decision about the truth of your hypothesis.

Most of the time it is better to use a computer to do the computation for you. Even if you enter the values correctly and generate a meaningful outcome, the computer will not tell you if your hypothesis is true. For that, you need to know how to interpret the results of the tests.