Which statistical test is used to assess normality of data?

The Shapiro-Wilk Test is specifically designed to assess whether a dataset is normally distributed. It calculates a W statistic that compares the order of values in the dataset to the expected order of values under a normal distribution. If the null hypothesis of normality is rejected based on the W statistic, it indicates that the data significantly deviates from a normal distribution.

In contrast, the Chi-Square Test is primarily used to compare categorical variables and does not assess the normality of numerical data. ANOVA (Analysis of Variance) is used to compare means across multiple groups, assuming that the data within each group is normally distributed, but it does not test for normality itself. The Student-T Test is utilized to compare means between two groups and also assumes that the data are normally distributed but does not provide a direct assessment of normality. Thus, the Shapiro-Wilk Test is the appropriate answer for evaluating the normality of data.