Suppose we have two paired samples and we wish to test the mean difference of both groups. We use two different methods to do this:
- First we compute the differences of each pair such that a new data set is obtained. The new data set is analyzed with the Bootstrap Plot for Central Tendency.
- The second method is the Bayesian Two Sample Test which is applied to the paired samples.
Both methods use simulation algorithms to obtain their results. Without going into the details of these algorithms (they are not relevant in this question), explain in your own words the conceptual difference between both approaches. Do you think that the conclusion of both methods will be different? Why?
In principle, both methods could provide us with valid results. There are, however, fundamental differences between both approaches which have important consequences.
The first approach is of a “frequentist” nature because the bootstrap method treats the sample as if it were a population and it draws (repeatedly) random samples with replacement. The resulting samples are used to compute the frequency distributions that are associated with the measures of Central Tendency of interest. This allows us to obtain confidence intervals which can be used for Hypothesis Testing. The rationale of this approach is that one relies exclusively on the observed sample data to test the hypothesis. There is no prior knowledge involved.
The bootstrap method is sometimes believed to be “objective” because it is only based on actual data -- the researcher’s beliefs have no impact on the result. This is, however, not always true because it is possible that the original sample (which is used to bootstrap new samples) is not representative for the population. In this sense, the bootstrap method makes implicit assumptions about the quality of the sample.
The second approach is a “Bayesian” method which combines prior information (either based on actual data from previous studies or on expert knowledge) with the actual data that is observed. At the heart of this approach is Bayes’ Theorem which explains how the posterior distribution can be computed when the prior distribution and the data-based likelihood have been obtained.
The obvious advantage of the Bayesian method is that the sample does not need to be representative. In addition, the researcher is able to reconcile qualitative information (from the expert) with quantitative information (from the sample). On the other hand, the Bayesian method may also fail miserably if the expert knowledge is somehow prejudiced or biased.
The bottom line is that it is up to you to decide which approach is best for your research!