Which statistical test should I use for my research question?

It determines whether you're going to compare groups, test associations, or predict an outcome. For group comparison, use a t-test for 2 groups or ANOVA for 3+ groups. For testing association, use Pearson's correlation or chi-square tests. For predicting an outcome, regression analysis is appropriate.

For categorical variables, chi-square tests work best. For continuous variables, t-tests or ANOVA are suitable. For ordinal data, consider non-parametric tests like Mann-Whitney or Kruskal-Wallis. Always verify that your data meets the assumptions (normality, homogeneity of variance) before selecting a test.