Connections between permutation and t-tests: relevance to adaptive methods
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Updated: Apr 25, 2026

Computerized Adaptive Testing System of Functional Assessment of Stroke
Published on: January 7, 2019
Michael Proschan1, Ekkehard Glimm, Martin Posch
1National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda, Maryland.
Abstract:
A permutation test assigns a p-value by conditioning on the data and treating the different possible treatment assignments as random. The fact that the conditional type I error rate given the data is controlled at level α ensures validity of the test even if certain adaptations are made. We show the connection between permutation and t-tests, and use this connection to explain why certain adaptations are valid in a t-test setting as well. We illustrate this with an example of blinded sample size recalculation.
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