Data types that can be analysed with z-tests

data points should be independent from each other

z-test is preferable when n is greater than 30.
the distributions should be normal if n is low, if however n>30 the distribution of the
data does not have to be normal
the variances of the samples should be the same (F-test)
all individuals must be selected at random from the population
all individuals must have equal chance of being selected
sample sizes should be as equal as possible but some differences are allowed

Data types that can be analysed with t-tests

data sets should be independent from each other except in the case of the pairedsample t-test
where n<30 the t-tests should be used
the distributions should be normal for the equal and unequal variance t-test (K-S
test or Shapiro-Wilke)
the variances of the samples should be the same (F-test) for the equal variance ttest
all individuals must be selected at random from the population
all individuals must have equal chance of being selected
sample sizes should be as equal as possible but some differences are allowed

Limitations of the tests

if you do not find a significant difference in your data, you cannot say that the
samples are the same

Introduction to the z and t-tests

Z-test and t-test are basically the same; they compare between two means to
suggest whether both samples come from the same population. There are however
variations on the theme for the t-test. If you have a sample and wish to compare it
with a known mean (e.g. national average) the single sample t-test is available. If
both of your samples are not independent of each other and have some factor in
common, i.e. geographical location or before/after treatment, the paired sample ttest can be applied. There are also two variations on the two sample t-test, the first

uses samples that do not have equal variances and the second uses samples whose
variances are equal.
It is well publicised that female students are currently doing better then male
students! It could be speculated that this is due to brain size differences? To assess
differences between a set of male students' brains and female students' brains a z
or t-test could be used. This is an important issue (as I'm sure you'll realise lads)
and we should use substantial numbers of measurements. Several universities and
colleges are visited and a set of male brain volumes and a set of female brain
volumes are gathered (I leave it to your imagination how the brain sizes are
obtained!).

Hypotheses

Data arrangement
Excel can apply the z or t-tests to data arranged in rows or in columns, but the
statistical packages nearly always use columns and are required side by side.

Results and interpretation

Degrees of freedom:
For the z-test degrees of freedom are not required since z-scores of 1.96 and 2.58
are used for 5% and 1% respectively.
For unequal and equal variance t-tests = (n1 + n2) - 2
For paired sample t-test = number of pairs - 1
The output from the z and t-tests are always similar and there are several values
you need to look for:

You can check that the program has used the right data by making sure that the
means (1.81 and 1.66 for the t-test), number of observations (32, 32) and degrees
of freedom (62) are correct. The information you then need to use in order to reject
or accept your HO, are the bottom five values. The t Stat value is the calculated
value relating to your data. This must be compared with the two t Critical values
depending on whether you have decided on a one or two-tail test (do not confuse
these terms with the one or two-way ANOVA). If the calculated value exceeds the
critical values the HO must be rejected at the level of confidence you selected before
the test was executed. Both the one and two-tailed results confirm that the H O must
be rejected and the HA accepted.
We can also use the P(T<=t) values to ascertain the precise probability rather than
the one specified beforehand. For the results of the t-test above the probability of
the differences occurring by chance for the one-tail test are 2.3x10 -9 (from 2.3E-11 x
100). All the above P-values denote very high significant differences.

A Z-test is appropriate when your test statistic (the thing you are asking a question about) is normally
distributed. This is the case when you are handling a sample proportion where N*P > 10 and N*(1-P) >
10. It is also the case when you are handling a sample mean where N > 25.
A T-test is appropriate when your test statistic has a T-distribution. This is the case when you are handling
a sample mean where N < 25.
If I give you the heights of ten people randomly sampled from Chicago and ask you whether the mean
height of people in Chicago is greater than 5'10", you would need to use a T-test. If instead I had given
you the heights of fifty such people, you could use a Z-test.
Good luck. =)
EDIT: I should note something rather pointless but still true. Regardless of the size of your sample, you
should ALWAYS use a Z-test for a sample mean when you know the standard deviation of your
population. However, in real life, you will never know the standard deviation of your population; you only
know the standard deviation of your sample.