What to Do When Your Supervisor Says You Used the Wrong Statistical Test
A wrong statistical test dissertation problem can feel serious, but it is usually manageable if you identify exactly why the original procedure does not fit the research question or data structure. The correction should begin with design reasoning rather than immediately switching to another SPSS menu.
Ask Why the Test Is Wrong
Common reasons include the wrong outcome type, non-independent observations, too many groups for the selected procedure, inappropriate treatment of ordinal data, failure to account for repeated measures or choosing correlation when prediction was intended.
Return to the Research Question
Write the outcome, predictors or groups, measurement levels and unit of analysis. Then identify whether the question is descriptive, comparative, associative or predictive.
Choose the Replacement Method
Consider the design first. A repeated-measures design may require a repeated or mixed model; a binary outcome may require logistic regression; three groups may require ANOVA rather than multiple t-tests.
Use How to Choose the Right Statistical Test in SPSS.
Rerun the Analysis Reproducibly
Keep the old syntax and create a clearly labelled revised version. Rerun the analysis from the correct data-preparation stage and save new output separately.
Update More Than the Results Table
A changed statistical test can affect methodology, results, interpretation, abstract, discussion and appendices. Reconcile all affected sections.
Explain the Change to Your Supervisor
State why the original method was unsuitable, what method replaced it and how the interpretation changed. This demonstrates methodological understanding rather than simply complying with a correction.
See SPSS Supervisor Feedback and Reproducible SPSS Analysis UK.