How to Troubleshoot When 'The Statistical Assumptions selected for this table are inappropriate'

Introduction

A number of the multiple comparison corrections have strict technical assumptions about the relationship between the columns in tables. Where these assumptions are not met, the following error message will be returned:

The Statistical Assumptions selected for this table are inappropriate.

Method

The problem likely involves having run ANOVA-Type tests or the type of Multiple comparison correction chosen. The selected method can only be applied to tables where:

• There are no overlapping columns (e.g., no NETs are permitted);
• The Comparisons specified are consistent with the request correction;
• If it is a Nominal - Multi variable set, the rows and columns have been switched so that the variables appear in different columns of the table;
• Within each span, the columns add up to 100%.

The articles How to Specify Comparisons for ANOVA-Based Tests and Planned ANOVA-Type Tests explain how these analyses need to be conducted so as to avoid this message.