The unequal variance t-test is an underused alternative to Student's t-test and the Mann–Whitney U test

Often in the study of behavioral ecology, and more widely in science, we require to statistically test whether the central tendencies (mean or median) of 2 groups are different from each other on the basis of samples of the 2 groups. In surveying recent issues of Behavioral Ecology (Volume 16, issues 1–5), I found that, of the 130 papers, 33 (25%) used at least one statistical comparison of this sort. Three different tests were used to make this comparison: Student’s t-test (67 occasions; 26 papers), Mann–Whitney U test (43 occasions; 21 papers), and the t-test for unequal variances (9 occasions; 4 papers). My aim in this forum article is to argue for the greater use of the last of these tests. The numbers…