The Chi-Square Test: My Go-To for Categorical Data

Even after working with the chi-square test for ten years, it still feels like a fresh discovery every time I use it. As a social researcher, I am often surrounded by the messy, beautiful complexity of people’s stories, choices, and lived experiences. On most of my analysis journeys, the chi-square test acts as a steady, patient colleague who quietly guides me through the noise. 

It is not usually the one delivering the headline-grabbing answers. Unlike regression or t-tests that often demand rigid rules and perfectly clean numbers, the chi-square actually flourishes in the messy, categorical reality of social life. That is where it shines.


Instead of bold conclusions, it helps me ask better questions and spot connections I might have missed. It gently points me to patterns and insights that are easy to overlook. Time and again, it helps me make sense of complex lives through data. For me, the chi-square is not just a method on a spreadsheet, it is a way of truly listening to what communities are saying.





Hnin Ei Lwin
#Monitoring #Evaluation #Reporting #Research #MEARL
#social #development #humanitarian #publichealth 

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