The t-test is used to test the significant difference between two sample means. It was introduced by William Sealy Gosset under the pen name 'student t'. There are two types of t-tests: the independent sample t-test compares two independent groups, while the dependent sample t-test compares two dependent or paired groups. To perform a t-test, the researcher states the null hypothesis, calculates the t-value, finds the degrees of freedom, and compares the calculated t-value to the tabulated value to determine if the null hypothesis can be rejected or retained.