N of Valid Cases: what it means and how to read it
In the report: N of Valid Cases — The rows the test is computed on: both answers present and applicable.
How to read it
The N to report next to the test: χ²(2, N = 50) = 0.31.
In plain words
A teacher sent a short survey to 60 students about their club and their favorite subject. Some left a question empty, and for some a question was not meant for them. She could not tell how many students the test had really used. She looked at N of Valid Cases, and it came out 50. Now she knows the result stands on 50 students, not 60. She writes that 50 next to her result, so every reader sees how many answers are behind it and knows how much to trust it.
Example
The cell with N of Valid Cases is selected in each report; point at a label to see its note.
- — the sample data (50 rows) the examples use
- — with the Chi-Square Tests and Symmetric Measures tables at the end
=STATS_CHI2(Data!A1:T51, "gender", "group", TRUE)
Where you see it
STATS_CHI2— Pearson chi-square test for association between two categorical columns.
Related values
- Observed counts — The crosstab of the counts the test uses — the same table as STATS_CROSSTABS.
- 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.
- 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.
Get it in your sheet
One formula in a cell gives the whole report, N of Valid Cases included. ALS Stats is a free add-on for Google Sheets™.
Install ALS Stats from Google Workspace Marketplace (opens in a new tab)