Dr Sterling wanted to investigate whether there is a difference in anxiety reduction between patients receiving a new mindfulness-based therapy and those receiving standard cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). She administered a standardised anxiety improvement test (scored out of 50, where higher scores indicate greater improvement) to a sample of 8 patients receiving mindfulness therapy and 8 patients receiving CBT.
| Participant | Anxiety improvement score of mindfulness patients | Anxiety improvement score of CBT patients |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 42 | 31 |
| 2 | 35 | 29 |
| 3 | 48 | 34 |
| 4 | 39 | 40 |
| 5 | 44 | 28 |
| 6 | 31 | 35 |
| 7 | 46 | 30 |
| 8 | 38 | 33 |
| Mean |
Explain which statistical (inferential) test Dr Sterling should use to analyse the data in Table 1.
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