How to Find P Values Using a Texas Instruments TI-83 Calculator
The field of statistics uses a number called the probability value (“p-value”) to describe the percentage likelihood that the results of a research study occurred by chance. Ronald A. Thisted, a professor of statistics at the University of Chicago, describes the p-value as a number that “measures consistency between the results actually obtained in the trial and the ‘pure chance’ explanation for those results.” The TI-83, a graphing calculator manufactured by Texas Instruments, is capable of calculating the p-value for a normal distribution, student’s t-distribution and chi-square distribution.
Instructions
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Press the “On” button.
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Press the button labeled “2nd” and then the button labeled “VARS” to access the distribution menu.
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Press the number “2” to select the second option on the menu, “normalcdf,“ to calculate the p-value of a normal distribution. Press the number “5” to select the fifth option on the menu, “tcdf,“ to calculate the p-value for a student’s t-distribution. Press the number “7” to select the seventh option on the menu, “X^2cdf,” to calculate the p-value for a chi-square distribution.
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Enter the lower bound of the data set.
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5
Insert a comma.
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Enter the upper bound of the data set.
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Insert a comma.
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Enter the mean of the data set.
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Insert a comma.
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Enter the standard of deviation of the data set.
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Press “Enter.”
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References
- University of Chicago: What is a P-Value? (PDF)
- “TI-83 Graphing Calculator Guidebook”; Texas Instruments; 1996
- Santa Monica College: P-Values with the TI-83/TI-84
- Photo Credit calculator image by Randy McKown from Fotolia.com
