"Degrees of freedom" refers to what on a t table for a single-sample t test?
A) number of restrictions enforced on people in the sample
B) total sample size of the distribution, N
C) number of scores that are free to vary in estimating population parameters, N - 1
D) amount of variance in the t distribution

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Degrees of freedom (df) in a t-test refer to the number of scores in a sample that are free to vary when the sample's mean is already known. It is calculated as N - 1, where N is the total sample size. This is because knowing the mean of a sample allows us to infer the value of one score, but all other scores are still free to vary. The degrees of freedom affect the shape of the t-distribution, which is used to determine the probability of obtaining a certain t-value in a single-sample t-test.

"Degrees of Freedom" Refers to What on a T Table