Q: What type of research would be the one described below, and which statistical test would be appropriate to analyze the data?

Hello Ramesh – Welcome to the forum!

Your question, or rather, the researcher’s study/assumption is intriguing. However, your own query about the statistical test would need the brains of our stats experts. So, we shall refer to them and get back to you.

Until then, it may also help to go through these related queries by other researchers:

• Can frequency count and percentages be used as statistical tools to analyze research data?
• Which statistical analysis should be used for a study involving one IV with three levels and one DV?

Hello again, Ramesh! As stated earlier, we reached out to our stats experts, and here’s what they had to say.

You say that the researcher has conducted a study showing that most people who died during the pandemic bought a new phone last year. The stats tests that one would need to analyze this data would depend on the research question/hypothesis. If the researcher is trying to establish a correlation between buying a phone and dying during the pandemic, a simple odds ratio (using logistic regression to remove biases), would work. The specific tests would be guided by the theoretical framework of the study.

Hope that helps!

For help with the statistical design in your paper, you may check out our Statistical Review service.

Hello again, Ramesh!

We understand that you are eagerly seeking an answer to this query. (We see that you had posted the question again.) Unfortunately, though, our stats experts are yet to get back. Until then, I could suggest a couple of alternatives for obtaining a response.

• Here’s an external guide that discusses a lot of stat tests and techniques. You may go through it to see if it helps.
• You may also choose to share your query in Researcher Voice, a new Facebook group we have for researchers, scholars, and academics worldwide to share their inputs, feedback, and thoughts on various aspects of the academic life. The group does seem to have a couple of stats folk, who may be able to guide you further. Check out the group here: Researcher Voice

And if our internal experts do get back eventually, I shall be happy to provide their updated responses as well! :-)

Hello again, Ramesh - and anyone else posting a similar question here or elsewhere on the net.

We have received the same question, with minor variations, multiple times over the past few days. And our suspicion seems to be that this is a spec[ulative] question. Yes, we do get those too from time to time. :-) So, it would be best to ignore. Which is perhaps why our experts weren't able to respond a second time: there wasn't any/much basis for the question.

Let's just keep our queries to the actual ones, shall we? :-)