line Statistical significance

Law enforcement agencies continue to be the best available and most widely used source of information for national gang surveys.

Statistical significance was determined by conducting chi-square and one-way analysis of variance tests. Chi-square is often used when evaluating the level of statistical significance attained in a cross-tabulation. One-way analysis of variance determines the differences between means of a dependent variable by one factor, or independent variable. The average for a particular category of a variable is compared with the overall average for the variable to determine if there are statistically significant differences between the averages. Patterns in the differences between averages can determine the nature of the relationship between variables. To be considered statistically significant, the relationship must have a level of significance of at least 0.05. That is, if a relationship is statistically significant at the 0.05 level, the probability that the relationship occurred by chance is less than 5 percent.


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1997 National Youth Gang Survey   December 1999