Chi-Square Test Assignment Help — Crosstabs and SPSS Assumptions

What Is the Chi-Square Test and When Do You Use It?

The chi-square test comes in two forms. The goodness-of-fit test checks whether one categorical variable matches an expected distribution. The test of independence — the version assigned far more often — checks whether two categorical variables are associated, such as gender and product preference, or treatment group and recovery status.

The Assumption That Breaks Most Student Chi-Square Assignments

Expected Cell Counts and When to Use Fisher’s Exact Test Instead

Chi-square requires that no more than 20% of cells in your table have an expected count below 5, and no cell should have an expected count below 1. SPSS reports this automatically — check the footnote below the Chi-Square Tests table, which states how many cells have an expected count below 5.

If the assumption is violated, report Fisher’s Exact Test instead of Pearson’s Chi-Square — SPSS calculates this automatically for 2×2 tables.

How to Run a Chi-Square Test in SPSS (Crosstabs, Step by Step)

1. Go to Analyze > Descriptive Statistics > Crosstabs.
2. Move one categorical variable into Row(s) and the other into Column(s).
3. Click Statistics, then tick Chi-square and Phi and Cramer’s V.
4. Click Cells, then tick Observed, Expected, and whichever percentages (row/column) make sense for your comparison.
5. Click Continue, then OK.

How to Interpret Chi-Square Output

Reading the Chi-Square Tests Table

Look at the Pearson Chi-Square row for your value, degrees of freedom [(rows − 1) × (columns − 1)], and Asymptotic Significance (2-sided) — your p-value. Check the table footnote first for the expected-count warning before trusting this row.

Effect Size — Cramer’s V and Phi

For a 2×2 table, report phi (φ). For larger tables, report Cramer’s V. Rough benchmarks: .1 small, .3 medium, .5 large.

How to Report Chi-Square Results in APA Format

A chi-square test of independence showed a significant association between treatment group and recovery status, χ²(1, N = 120) = 8.42, p = .004, V = .26.

Chi-Square vs Other Tests: What If Your Data Doesn’t Fit This Design?

Chi-Square vs McNemar’s Test vs Correlation

Chi-square assumes independent observations — if the same people were measured twice on a categorical outcome (before/after), you need McNemar’s test instead. If both your variables are continuous rather than categorical, you need correlation, not chi-square. See the full SPSS statistical test guide to confirm which test fits your design.

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