CHI-SQUARE SIGNIFICANCE TEST

In this table and the next two, asterisks indicate the results of the chi-square significance tests. These significance tests measure the likelihood that the association between the independent and dependent variables is caused by chance. Among statisticians a chi-square of .05 is a conventionally accepted threshold of statistical significance; values less than .05 are commonly referred to as "statistically significant." In practical terms, a chi-square of less than .05 means that if, in fact, there was no association in the population between the independent and dependent variables, the observed association would be expected to occur by chance fewer than 5 times in 100 samples of the type we used. Thus, when the chi-square is less than .05, we can be confident in rejecting the possibility that no association exists between the independent and dependent variables. In this table and the next two, one asterisk (*) indicates a chi-square of less than .05 and two asterisks (**) indicates a chi-square of less than .001.