Login
📚 Statistics with Technology 2e
Chapters ▾
⇩ Download ▾

11.3 Analysis of Variance (ANOVA)

There are times where you want to compare three or more population means. One idea is to just test different combinations of two means. The problem with that is that your chance for a type I error increases. Instead you need a process for analyzing all of them at the same time. This process is known as analysis of variance (ANOVA). The test statistic for the ANOVA is fairly complicated, you will want to use technology to find the test statistic and p-value. The test statistic is distributed as an F-distribution, which is skewed right and depends on degrees of freedom. Since you will use technology to find these, the distribution and the test statistic will not be presented. Remember, all hypothesis tests are the same process. Note that to obtain a statistically significant result there need only be a difference between any two of the k means.

Before conducting the hypothesis test, it is helpful to look at the means and standard deviations for each data set. If the sample means with consideration of the sample standard deviations are different, it may mean that some of the population means are different. However, do realize that if they are different, it doesn’t provide enough evidence to show the population means are different. Calculating the sample statistics just gives you an idea that conducting the hypothesis test is a good idea.

Hypothesis test using ANOVA to compare k means

  1. State the random variables and the parameters in words
    x1= random variable 1x2= random variable 2xk= random variable kμ1= mean of random variable 2μ2= mean of random variable 2μk= mean of random variable k
  2. State the null and alternative hypotheses and the level of significance
    Ho:μ1=μ2=μ3==μk
    HA: at least two of the means are not equal
    Also, state your α level here.
  3. State and check the assumptions for the hypothesis test
    1. A random sample of size ni is taken from each population.
    2. All the samples are independent of each other.
    3. Each population is normally distributed. The ANOVA test is fairly robust to the assumption especially if the sample sizes are fairly close to each other. Unless the populations are really not normally distributed and the sample sizes are close to each other, then this is a loose assumption.
    4. The population variances are all equal. If the sample sizes are close to each other, then this is a loose assumption.
  4. . Find the test statistic and p-value
    The test statistic is F=MSBMSW, where MSB=SSBdfB is the mean square between the groups (or factors), and MSW=SSWdfW is the mean square within the groups. The degrees of freedom between the groups is dfB=k1 and the degrees of freedom within the groups is dfW=n1+n2++nkk. To find all of the values, use technology such as the TI-83/84 calculator or R.
    The test statistic, F, is distributed as an F-distribution, where both degrees of freedom are needed in this distribution. The p-value is also calculated by the calculator or R.
  5. Conclusion
    This is where you write reject Ho or fail to reject Ho. The rule is: if the p-value < α, then reject Ho. If the p-value α, then fail to reject Ho.
  6. Interpretation
    This is where you interpret in real world terms the conclusion to the test. The conclusion for a hypothesis test is that you either have enough evidence to show HA is true, or you do not have enough evidence to show HA is true.

If you do in fact reject Ho, then you know that at least two of the means are different. The next question you might ask is which are different? You can look at the sample means, but realize that these only give a preliminary result. To actually determine which means are different, you need to conduct other tests. Some of these tests are the range test, multiple comparison tests, Duncan test, Student-Newman-Keuls test, Tukey test, Scheffé test, Dunnett test, least significant different test, and the Bonferroni test. There is no consensus on which test to use. These tests are available in statistical computer packages such as Minitab and SPSS.

Homework

Data Source:

Aboriginal deaths in custody. (2013, September 26). Retrieved from http://www.statsci.org/data/oz/custody.html

Activities of dolphin groups. (2013, September 26). Retrieved from http://www.statsci.org/data/general/dolpacti.html

Boyle, P., Flowerdew, R., & Williams, A. (1997). Evaluating the goodness of fit in models of sparse medical data: A simulation approach. International Journal of Epidemiology, 26(3), 651-656. Retrieved from http://ije.oxfordjournals.org/conten...3/651.full.pdf html

Calories datafile. (2013, December 07). Retrieved from lib.stat.cmu.edu/DASL/Datafiles/Calories.html

Cancer survival story. (2013, December 04). Retrieved from lib.stat.cmu.edu/DASL/Stories...rSurvival.html

Car preferences. (2013, September 26). Retrieved from http://www.statsci.org/data/oz/carprefs.html

Cuckoo eggs in nest of other birds. (2013, December 04). Retrieved from lib.stat.cmu.edu/DASL/Stories/cuckoo.html

Education by age datafile. (2013, December 05). Retrieved from lib.stat.cmu.edu/DASL/Datafil...tionbyage.html

Encyclopedia Titanica. (2013, November 09). Retrieved from www.encyclopediatitanica.org/

Global health observatory data respository. (2013, October 09). Retrieved from http://apps.who.int/gho/athena/data/...t=GHO/MORT_400 &profile=excel&filter=AGEGROUP:YEARS05-14;AGEGROUP:YEARS15- 29;AGEGROUP:YEARS30-49;AGEGROUP:YEARS50-69;AGEGROUP:YEARS70;MGHEREG:REG6_AFR;GHECAUSES:*;SEX:*

Hot dogs story. (2013, November 16). Retrieved from lib.stat.cmu.edu/DASL/Stories/Hotdogs.html

Leprosy: Number of reported cases by country. (2013, September 04). Retrieved from http://apps.who.int/gho/data/node.main.A1639

Magazine ads readability. (2013, December 04). Retrieved from lib.stat.cmu.edu/DASL/Datafiles/magadsdat.html

Popular kids datafile. (2013, December 05). Retrieved from lib.stat.cmu.edu/DASL/Datafil...pularKids.html

Schultz, S. T., Klonoff-Cohen, H. S., Wingard, D. L., Askhoomoff, N. A., Macera, C. A., Ji, M., & Bacher, C. (2006). Breastfeeding, infant formula supplementation, and autistic disorder: the results of a parent survey. International Breastfeeding Journal, 1(16), doi: 10.1186/1746-4358-1-16

Waste run up. (2013, December 04). Retrieved from lib.stat.cmu.edu/DASL/Stories/wasterunup.html