#### 15.11.2 Independent Samples Mode

The `GROUPS` subcommand invokes Independent Samples mode or ‘Groups’ mode. This mode is used to test whether two groups of values have the same population mean. In this mode, you must also use the `/VARIABLES` subcommand to tell PSPP the dependent variables you wish to test.

The variable given in the `GROUPS` subcommand is the independent variable which determines to which group the samples belong. The values in parentheses are the specific values of the independent variable for each group. If the parentheses are omitted and no values are given, the default values of 1.0 and 2.0 are assumed.

If the independent variable is numeric, it is acceptable to specify only one value inside the parentheses. If you do this, cases where the independent variable is greater than or equal to this value belong to the first group, and cases less than this value belong to the second group. When using this form of the `GROUPS` subcommand, missing values in the independent variable are excluded on a listwise basis, regardless of whether `/MISSING=LISTWISE` was specified.