Expected counts: what it means and how to read it
In the report: Expected counts — The counts expected if the two variables were unrelated: row total × column total / N, for the non-empty categories. The test compares them with the observed counts.
In plain words
A teacher asked 50 students which club they joined. She wanted to know what she would see if boys and girls chose in exactly the same way. Expected counts showed it: 11 girls and 11 boys in chess, and 14 girls and 14 boys in art. Her real counts were 12 girls and 10 boys in chess. Now she can answer: the real table is close to the expected one, so the test finds no sign that boys and girls choose differently. The further the two tables are apart, the stronger the sign of a link.
Example
The cell with Expected counts is selected in each report; point at a label to see its note.
- — the sample data (50 rows) the examples use
- —
=STATS_CHI2(Data!A1:T51, "gender", "group")
Where you see it
STATS_CHI2— Pearson chi-square test for association between two categorical columns.
Related values
- Percentage — The share of the rows in the range, empty answers included; rows with "." (not applicable) are left out.
- Valid percentage — The share among the valid answers: missing and not applicable are left out, and _other too when the labels are closed.
- Not applicable — Cells with "." — the question did not apply to the respondent; they are kept apart from missing answers.
- Adjusted residuals — With details = TRUE: the adjusted standardized residual of each cell (SPSS "Adjusted Residual"): how far the count is from the one expected if the two columns were independent, in standard errors. Empty when there is one row or one column.
- Chi-Square Tests — With details = TRUE: the tests of the table as in SPSS CROSSTABS /STATISTICS=CHISQ, at the very end of the report. Pearson Chi-Square, Likelihood Ratio and N of Valid Cases are always there; Continuity Correction and Fisher's Exact Test only for a 2 × 2 table; Linear-by-Linear Association only when both columns have codes (numbers, or labels with numbers).
Get it in your sheet
One formula in a cell gives the whole report, Expected counts included. ALS Stats is a free add-on for Google Sheets™.
Install ALS Stats from Google Workspace Marketplace (opens in a new tab)