We’ve got a feedback story from our grateful customer who decided to share his success story and help students who struggle with the chi-squared test.

This article contains a full and really simple guide to solving chi-square. To keep his identity anonymous, we’ve changed his name.

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I’m Donald and this is my story about conquering chi-square. Einstein was completely right saying that, “If you can’t explain it to a six-year-old, you don’t understand it yourself.”

If you’re currently struggling with the chi-square test, I’ll answer all — and I mean all — your questions about this tricky statistical method in really easy to understand terms!

I’ve adapted this article from the “Methodology” section of my paper. You are welcome to use it to understand how the methodology of your own homework should work.

What is the Chi-Square Test and Where to Use It?

The first time I had to use chi-square was when I was at the 4th year of my undergraduate program at Pittsburgh University School of Nursing. I planned to prove that googling about mental health issues can cause anxiety and negative emotions.

Thus, the topic of my paper was “How reading of online resources about mental health issues impacts patients’ mental and emotional state”.

I surveyed 100 patients. I asked them how often they read about health issues, and whether such a guilty pleasure triggers their anxiety. Then, I recorded their answers on a table.  

All I needed was to find the right statistical test. I looked through a short chi-square guide online and it totally triggered my math anxiety.

You know, I felt that I’m the dumbest person in the world. Thankfully, I did not give up and continued.

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At the end of the day, Donald resolves his case — being mentored by a professional Nerd.

Let Nerdify find your perfect academic match using AI! 🤖

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❓ What is the Chi-Square Test?

First things first, I got to know my enemy. Chi-square test is a common statistical method used to determine whether two things (in statistics they are called variables) are somehow related.

❓ How to find out whether variables are related? If one variable somehow changes, and another immediately changes in response, it means that they are related.

This is actually very simple to understand once you put the concept of chi-square in the context of a real example.

In my case, patients would be reading about health issues online and experience anxiety. If they feel bad after browsing horrifying symptoms of mental illnesses on WedMD, that means these variables are related.

To make sure that the chi-square method suits your particular research, check these criteria:

1. You need to analyze numerical results — specifically, the numbers of times you’ve observed something happening, or how many people gave the same response.
2. Variables are categorical — variables should belong to specific groups. For instance, respondents in surveys can be categorized by gender, age, political views, etc.
3. There are two individual variables (e.g. how frequently people google online about mental illnesses (very frequently or rarely) and the effect of their googling (increased anxiety or no negative emotions)
4. You only need a “yes” or “no” answer – chi-square can only tell if two variables influence each other. It never tells how strong the influence is and when or why it occurs.

Chi-square is used pretty much anywhere because it is a simple, suitable for any sample size, and cheap way to test whether two variables are related. For instance:

 

• In healthcare: is anxiety associated with online research about health issues?
• In sociology: is crime rate related to the poverty level in a specific region?
• In marketing: do sales depend on the region where products are sold?
• In politics: does voter turnout depend on voter age?

Given all this info, I decided that chi-square was exactly what I needed for my research. But how to convert my data into a table and then get all the calculations done right? After 5 days of trial and error, all I had was only errors and I got stuck.

Why Chi-Square Test is Mistakenly Thought to be Difficult?

You’d think that the good old Google knows everything, but nope. Page after page of the search results, I saw the same explanations by-the-book, which were all Greek to me. Without statistical education, I got the theoretical part but was completely lost when it came to practice.

Then a friend of mine recommended me Nerdify. Nerdify connected me with a perfect Nerd — a Master in Medical Statistics and finally, I knew I was going somewhere!

A detailed explanation from the Nerd on how chi-square works and how I should use it — it was all that I needed to nail my super difficult paper.

Why was chi-square so difficult for me? As my Nerd said, it happens with all the students for the following reasons:

• Extremely complex definitions and explanations that make chi-square seem very entangled and confuse students
• Without illustrative examples, complex formulas are overwhelming for anyone who does not have a fancy for math.
• Lack of time teachers can devote to explaining every topic — students often have no one to ask for an extra explanation
• Lack of knowledge due to that your major doesn’t have anything to do with statistics. As a student nurse, I didn’t have any background in studying statistics at all.
  

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• Explain formulas?
• Provide real-life examples?
• Mentor customization of statistical methods to your project?

 📲 Message Nerdify to get help!

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If you’re struggling just as I did, for whatever reason, I’ve got a perfect step-by-step guide to chi-square that you can use!

Really Simple Step-by-Step Chi-Square Guide

Right off the bat, you should know that it’s totally acceptable for non-statistics students to skip doing all the calculations manually and use online chi-square test calculators.

However, my college professor required all the chi-square formulas explained in the paper. Thus, if you’ll use chi-square, you need to understand this method to interpret the results correctly.

▶ Formula Explained

When you see this abomination of a formula, you probably think it’s extremely complex:

where

• χ2 — value of chi square
• Σ — sign of sum, means the total amount of elements in a sequence
• O — observed value of a variable, or the numbers you already have from observations or task description
• E — expected value of variables you need to calculate yourself; they represent how the variables would be distributed if there would be NO relationship between the variables

Even if you do all the calculations using MS Excel or SPSS, you still need to know where to put which number!

In sections below, you fill find out more about where to find these numbers.

Now it’s time for the best part — calculations!

 

0️⃣ My Case ➕ Sample Size

In my research, I surveyed 100 patients. I asked them how often they read about health issues, and whether such a guilty pleasure triggers their anxiety

• So there were two categories of patients: those who frequently research health issues and those who rarely research them
• There were also two options of their emotional response: increased anxiety and no changes  

Right now, I know my sample size — the number of observations. How many people responded to the survey? How many times you’ve seen something happening during the experiment or study?

In my case, sample equaled 100 — the number of people who participated in the survey.

 

1️⃣ Creating a Chi-Square Table

Using this data, I created this contingency table:

❓ Contingency tables present observations in matrix format — rows and columns, just like the table above. This type of tables is very commonly used in statistics, especially because it demonstrates how two variables are connected.

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	Increased anxiety	No changes	Total
Frequently research
Rarely research
Total

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2️⃣ Choosing Statistical Significance

If you’re writing a paper using the chi-square method, chances are that the level of statistical significance isn’t given. Where do you get it? You choose it yourself!

❓ Statistical significance — is the likelihood of that the relationship between two or more variables is accidental and the results of the observation are caused by something else than just chance.

For instance, if a patient gets anxiety every time he does online research about health issues, then statistically the probability of getting anxiety, aka level of confidence is 100%, or 1.

If a patient gets anxiety in 9 times out of 10, then we can confidently state that the probability here is 90%, or 0.9.

The most typical levels of significance are 0.05 and 0.01 — both are 100% safe to use in your paper. I chose 0.01 because the lower the value, the more significant results you’ll get — lower significance implies a lower risk of error.

Why do we need the level of significance? My Nerd had a good metaphor to explain it. Imagine that you have to climb up a ladder that has 100 steps. The more steps are missing, the higher the risk that you’ll fall. That’s why we set a very low level of significance — to make sure that calculations are correct!

 

3️⃣ State your Hypotheses

The hypothesis is a fancy word that confuses many students, but in reality, the hypothesis is just an assumption that you have. In chi-square, you’ll need 2 of them.

• Null hypothesis (H0)– usually states that the results of the observations could result purely from chance and the variables are independent — if one of them changes, another one stays the same and doesn’t react to the changes in the first one.

My H0 would say that getting anxiety isn’t connected with researching health issues online.

• Alternative hypothesis (H1)  states that the sample observations result not from a random cause, but from a specific cause and the variables are dependent in some way.

That is, my H1 says that patients really do get anxiety and experience negative feelings after researching health issues online.

4️⃣ Fill in Observed Values

Here just enter all the observed values into the table:

❓ Observed value — what actually happened or how many times you’ve seen something occur. For instance, how many respondents out of 100 admitted to frequently research online about mental issues and get anxiety from it

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	Increased anxiety	No change	Total
Frequently research	36	9	45
Rarely research	24	31	55
Total	60	40	100

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5️⃣ Calculate Expected Value

Here we calculate values that would be observed in case if there would be no relationship between researching health issues and experiencing negative emotions.

❓ Expected value — it’s calculated by the formula below and show what would happen if the variables were absolutely independent — wouldn’t affect each other at all.

where

• E — expected value
• Mr — row total for the cell you’re calculating an expected value for
• Mc — column total for that cell
• n — sample size
  

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	Increased anxiety	No change	Total
Frequently research	27	18	45
Rarely research	33	22	55
Total	60	40	100

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• Expected value for “frequently research, increased anxiety” E=45*60/100=27
• Expected value for “only rarely research, increased anxiety” E=55*60/100=33
• Expected value for “frequently research, no negative emotions” E=45*40/100=18
• Expected value for“only rarely research, no negative emotions” E=55*40/100=22

 

6️⃣ Calculate Chi-Square Using the Formula

Once again, you can use online calculators, but this how it’s done in practice (aka the hard way):

 

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Not ready yet to move further with chi-square test?

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7️⃣ Calculate Degrees of Freedom and Critical Value

Now that we got chi-square calculation done, let’s calculate the degrees of freedom

❓ Degrees of freedom (df) — the number of independent variables that went into the calculation.

Just think of those promotions “buy 2 — get 1 for free!” — you’re free to choose several things, but +1 product is always set by the promotion. Degrees of freedom, however, subtract 1 from both your rows and columns.

You need to use a chi-square distribution table and find your critical value at the intersection of the degrees of freedom (df=1) and the level of significance (α=0.01):

So, our critical value is 6.63. This value is smaller than our χ2 =13.63 Therefore, in our chi-square test example, researching about health issues online and getting anxiety or negative emotions are related.

We don’t know how much they are related, because chi-square doesn’t answer this question. But we definitely know that they are somehow related.👌

Chi-Square Calculators — the Easy Way

Even if you need to do all the difficult calculations by yourself, these calculators are awesome to verify your results. Or, if you’re lucky, online calculators are all you’ll need to use to calculate chi-square!

1. Social Science Statistics Calculator — easy to use chi-square calculator that can calculate up to 5 rows and 5 columns. You can enter category names, fill in the data, and get the result in a flash.
2. Kent University SPSS Guide for Chi-Square — if you have SPSS, you can consider your chi-square test pretty much already done. This guide will help you learn how to import chi-square tables and graphs into the SPSS and get the task solved. Many colleges and universities use SPSS as their default tool, and your professor may ask you to show your SPSS datasheet.
3. Chi-Square Calculator — another extremely simple online chi-squared test calculator. All you need to do is enter the observed values and you’ll get degrees of freedom and chi-square ready.

How Can You Nail Chi-Square: My Pro Tips

If anyone told me I would be able to do it just a week before connecting with a Nerd, I’d never believed it. It was simple and logical explanations from my Nerd that helped me completely nail chi-square test and do all the calculations by myself.

Now, I understand each step of chi-square and interpret results correctly. For me, it was crucial that a professional, with a background in studying and applying statistics in practice, would explain everything to me in human language, not math language.

And now a few tips for you to cut corners if you’re dealing with chi-square:

• Keep in mind that chi-square isn’t rocket science — it is doable and actually very easy if you have a really simple and detailed guideline
• The number of rows and columns can vary and your table can be much larger than mine, however, the principle remains the same — you’ll just need to do more arithmetic
• When calculating the expected value, you’ll most likely get fractions, which can confuse you, especially if you’re calculating the number of people in each category. Don’t bother about it — these calculations are intended for further calculation of chi-square

That’s all I wanted to share in my feedback story today. Hopefully, it will help you nail chi-square and get the grade you deserve! Chi-square isn’t as difficult as it may seem at first, so go ahead and break a lance!

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Of course, you can make your own success story too!

Nerdify is an AI-powered platform to quickly connect with the experience of 1000s of Personal Nerds

✨Give a try right now!

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One of the most important things that you can learn as a college student is how to handle roommate conflict. Unfortunately, this incredibly useful skill is never really taught to students in school despite its value. To help students establish a positive living environment Nerdify Reviews 3 tips on resolving arguments with roommates.

For most students, it will be their first time living with someone who is not a family member. There is also a fear of confrontation, as well as a lack of experience in dealing with negotiation and compromise.

In this article, we will answer several important questions like, “How do I keep from getting angry during an argument?” and “What are red flags for roommates?” Resolving conflicts with your roommate isn’t as difficult as you might think. But it will require you to take action if you want to bring about the best possible outcome.

1. Do active listening

The first rule in how to resolve conflict with dorm roommates is to make sure to LISTEN when your roommate tells their side of the argument. Don’t simply think about what you’re going to say next while they are talking. Or ignore them completely while thinking of your next great Reddit post. That’s one of the worst things you can do. If the roommate feels like they are not listened to, they are very likely to continue the behavior that you don’t like.

Also, talk to your roommate in private. Go to a place where it’s only the two of you so that nobody feels embarrassed and there aren’t many distractions. Nothing can make college roommate conflicts worse than airing out your roommate’s dirty laundry where other people can hear.

Not being able to listen is one of the very big signs of a bad college roommate. Set aside ample time for both of you to say everything you need to say. Dominating the conversation will only make your roommate feel like they were not listened to.

2. Stay calm and don’t talk while you’re angry

If you want to make sure that you are calm when you talk to your roommate, say things immediately when they start to bother you, or better yet, even before. If you want to know how to resolve roommate issues, take notice of when you’re starting to get angry. Make sure you do something to help you relax and put yourself in a calm mood before engaging.

Unfortunately, this is not what most students do. For example, maybe you have a roommate who doesn’t know how to keep their area clean. How do you deal with a messy roommate in college? What many students do is they HOPE that the problem will stop even if they don’t bring it to the roommate’s attention.

What usually happens instead is that the student makes no mention of what is bothering them. That bothersome feeling grows and grows until it explodes from the student as yelling, or some other over-the-top action. What’s worse is that the roommate is usually completely surprised by this, because you never brought it to their attention before.

Not wanting to rock the waves is understandable, but you have to remember two things. First, the roommate will most likely continue the behavior you don’t like until you bring it to their attention. Second, the behavior WILL continue to bother you until it is addressed.

3. Work out solutions together

Conflicts are usually resolved when both parties feel like they were heard AND they feel like things were resolved equally. Usually when compromising, both you and your roommate might have to give up something. That way, both of you can feel like things were resolved equally.

A great way to let your roommate feel like they are helping to solve the issue is to ask them open-ended questions about what they would like to do. You could ask, “What do you think the answer to the problem is?” or “What can we both do to make this situation better?”

Don’t just tell your roommate what you want them to do. That will make them feel like they are not involved in the problem-solving process.

The final solution in how to deal with a problematic roommate might not be your ideal scenario, but please remember that all people are different. Backgrounds, beliefs, cultures, interests, and behaviors will all vary from person to person.

Here’s a final protip: know when to get help. There might be some times when both of you cannot come to a resolution where both of you are happy. At that time you should get an RA involved. The Resident Advisor is there to solve problems like this. They can act as a great mediator and look at things objectively. This should be used as a last resort though, so be sure to attempt to talk to your roommate one-on-one first.

In Conclusion

Navigating roommate conflicts is an essential skill for college students, and taking proactive steps can lead to a positive living environment. Nerdify Reviews experts say that effective communication is key when handling roommate conflicts. Start by actively listening to your roommate’s concerns in private, fostering an open dialogue. Stay calm during discussions to prevent issues from escalating, addressing concerns promptly rather than letting them build up. Collaboratively work on solutions, encouraging your roommate’s input to ensure a fair resolution.

Finding common ground may require compromise, flexibility and understanding but remember that by following these tips you can contribute to a positive living environment for both you and your roommate.

If you would like more tips on how to succeed in college and university, follow Nerdify Reviews for a comprehensive game plan on how to achieve great results in your studies.

If you’re looking for the best hobby for you as a college student, you’ve come to the right place. Nerdify reviews team wants to help turn your free time into an exciting and useful activity!

Which will be your pick? Will you choose to explore the world or let your creativity blossom? This blog post reveals the pros and cons of the most popular hobbies for college students and will help you make the right choice.

1. Geocaching

If you aren’t familiar with geocaching, it’s basically an outdoor hide-and-seek game using GPS. It’ll make you go to the places you’ve never been before, feel that treasure hunt rush, and have fresh air.

Pros

• Costs nothing, except maybe bus or train fare
• Will make you go outside
• You’ll feel like a treasure hunter
• Cool activity to do with friends and family
• Explore nature
• You’ll see your usual environment from a new perspective

Cons

• Easy to get sucked in, if that can be considered a con

Geocaching is fun and exciting, costs nearly nothing, and promotes physical activity – what’s not to love?

2. Blogging

If you have ideas to write about, thoughts you’d like to save forever, or just practice writing, start your own blog. Plus, your blog can become a part of your professional portfolio.

Pros

• Free
• No limitations – you do you
• Will help you improve your writing skills tremendously
• You’ll learn a lot along the way
• Can potentially help you build a career
• You can make a difference in any field
• You can make money from it
• Connect with new people

Cons

• Requires regular updates
• You can get into writer’s block
• Trolling can get in your way

If you start a blog, your writing will live on, that’s for sure. If you’re willing to invest time and effort in it, you’ll surely get the benefits described above.

3. Crafting and Artistry

This is an awesome talent that you should absolutely embrace in your free time. It absolutely doesn’t matter what you can do – knitting, crocheting, scrapbooking, cross-stitching, carving, drawing, painting, or DYI-ing things – all of it goes.

Pros

• Inexpensive
• You can let your imagination run wild
• You can create original, one-of-a-kind things
• You’ll always have awesome gifts to give to friends and family
• You can sell stuff and earn money from your awesome hobby (try Etsy)
• Whoever you tell about your hobby, will be in awe

Cons

• Requires patience
• Some materials can be up there in price

Make sure to take a moment to consider this great option!

4. Thrifting

There’s nothing more exciting than finding a cool item in a thrift store at a bargain price. Remember that one man’s junk is another man’s treasure!

Pros

• Value is usually way higher than the price
• You can find unique and valuable things
• Great way to find collectibles
• By thrifting, you are giving a second life to things, which is good for the environment

Cons

• Requires a lot of time
• Sometimes you’ll fail to find what you want, but don’t get discouraged.

Thrifting is a great idea however you look at it, so happy hunting!

5. Exercise

If you’re already exercising on the regular basis, hats off to you. If you don’t – consider making it your hobby because it’s right for pretty much anyone.  

Pros

• Increase energy
• Look younger and feel better
• Overcome the negative effects of a sedentary lifestyle
• Maintain healthy weight
• Improve body strength and posture

Cons

• Depending on what you do, there’s risk of injury, so make sure you know what you’re doing
• If you choose to go to the gym, it can be expensive

You don’t need gym membership to go for a run every morning, so invest your time in yourself!

6. Playing an instrument

This is a hobby that always makes people go, “Wow!”  when you tell about it. If you already can play an instrument, use your free time to perfect your skill. If not, you can spend your time learning how to play an instrument.

Pros

• It’s awesome and cool
• Makes you stand out
• Trains your brain
• Can become a source of income one day

Cons

• Instruments are expensive, but you’ll rarely have to buy a new instrument

If you play for your own enjoyment or want to finally learn to play an instrument, it’s the perfect time to start!

7. Photography

Being good at taking pictures is a great skill you’ll be able to use your whole life and you don’t need an expensive camera to be an awesome photographer.

Pros

• Experience pleasure in photography
• People will ask you to take pictures
• Keeping precious moments forever
• Requires no investment (who said you can’t use your smartphone camera?)
• Can become a career

Cons

• If you decide to invest in a camera and gear, be prepared to spend a lot

Photography is a beautiful hobby and requires only one thing – your passion.

8. Cooking

Cooking is an essential skill to have in life. We live in the world of processed foods that aren’t that great for us, so why not learn how to cook yourself?

Pros

• You’ll eat tasty foods
• People will praise your cooking skills
• You’ll learn how to save money on food
• You won’t want to return to McDonald’s ever again after making your own chicken nuggets

Cons

• Ingredients might be expensive depending on the recipe

Cooking is a great hobby to treat yourself, literally.

9. Urban exploration

You probably think you know the area you live in pretty well, but often there’s a lot more to discover. Exploring your environment is an exciting hobby that will become a source of never-ending topics to discuss with friends!

Pros

• Learn to find your bearings on the ground
• Find fun and interesting places to spend time
• Find what to share with friends and family
• Find great places to study (cafés, libraries, etc)
• Take lots of great pictures if you want to

Cons

• Might require some research
• Time-consuming

Become a tourist in your own city for one day – it might just be the coolest hobby you can find as a college student!

10. Origami

Most people who have tried origami, have probably tossed it after failing to fold a crane. If you’re a tough cookie, you’ll nail even the hardest tasks! P.S. We have a very passionate origami-fan in our Nerdify reviews team too!
Pros

• Unique
• Easy to find tutorials
• Helps focus
• Entertaining
• Very low cost

Cons

• Might be frustrating when it gets too challenging

For a college student, origami is a cool hobby that is cheap and fun, so give it a try!

11. Learn about art

If some of the best places you’ve been to is the art museum, you might consider making learning about art your hobby. You can watch retro movies, learn about the history of fashion, or focus on specific periods in art history.

Pros

• Broadens your horizons
• Free
• Can make for a long-term hobby

Cons

• Isn’t a too relaxing hobby for a busy student

Make learning about what you love about your hobby!

12. Learn a new skill that pays

It’s always great to do what you love for money. You can learn how to do manicure, cut and style hair, do makeup, or carve wood. All these hobbies can help you earn money as a college student.

Pros

• You get to improve your skills
• You can earn from a hobby

Cons

• Requires having good skills, to begin with

Hobbies that pay are among the most popular hobbies for college students!

Whichever hobby you pick, remember that the best one will be the one that you are passionate about. Nerdify reviews team agrees on one thing: pick whatever puts a smile on your face and you’re golden!