is a statistical method that compares means across three or more groups to determine if significant differences exist. It's used when you have a categorical independent variable with three or more levels and a continuous, normally distributed dependent variable.
The test calculates an , which compares between-group variability to within-group variability. A large F-statistic and small suggest significant differences among group means. Post-hoc tests and calculations help pinpoint specific differences and their magnitude.
One-Way ANOVA
Purpose of one-way ANOVA
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Compares means across three or more groups or populations to determine if significant differences exist
Used when independent variable is categorical with three or more levels (groups) and dependent variable is continuous and normally distributed within each group
Assumes equal variances of dependent variable across all groups ()
Commonly applied to compare effectiveness of different treatments, evaluate impact of factors on continuous outcome variables, or determine significant differences in performance across multiple groups (e.g., comparing test scores of students from different schools)
Hypotheses in one-way ANOVA
Null hypothesis (H0) states all group means are equal: H0:μ1=μ2=...=μk, where k is the number of groups
Alternative hypothesis (Ha) states at least one group mean differs: Ha:At least one μi is different
If p-value < chosen significance level (typically 0.05), reject H0 and conclude significant difference among group means
If p-value > chosen significance level, fail to reject H0 and conclude insufficient evidence to suggest significant difference among group means
F-statistic and p-value interpretation
F-statistic calculated as ratio of between-group variability to within-group variability: F=Within-group variabilityBetween-group variability
F-statistic follows F-distribution with (k−1) and (N−k) degrees of freedom, where k is number of groups and N is total sample size
Larger F-statistic indicates greater difference among group means relative to within-group variability
p-value represents probability of obtaining F-statistic as extreme as or more extreme than observed value, assuming H0 is true
Small p-value (< 0.05) suggests observed differences among group means unlikely due to chance, providing evidence against H0
Assumptions of one-way ANOVA
Independence: Observations within each group must be independent
Violation occurs when observations within groups are related or dependent
: Dependent variable should be approximately normally distributed within each group
Violation occurs when distribution is heavily skewed or has outliers in one or more groups
Homogeneity of variances: Variances of dependent variable must be equal across all groups
Violation (heteroscedasticity) occurs when variances substantially differ across groups
Use diagnostic plots (residual plots, Q-Q plots) to assess normality and homogeneity of variances
Conduct formal tests (Levene's test, Bartlett's test) to assess equality of variances
If assumptions violated, consider data transformations (log transformation), non-parametric alternatives (Kruskal-Wallis test) for severe normality violations, or robust methods (Welch's ANOVA) for heteroscedasticity
Post-Hoc Tests and Effect Size
Conduct post-hoc tests to determine which specific group means differ significantly
If one-way ANOVA yields significant F-statistic, use post-hoc tests to determine which specific group means differ
Common post-hoc tests: , , Scheffe's test, Dunnett's test (compares multiple treatments to control)
Post-hoc tests control familywise error rate (FWER) or false discovery rate (FDR) to maintain overall Type I error rate at desired level (0.05)
Identify pairwise comparisons with p-values < adjusted significance level (e.g., 0.05 divided by number of comparisons for Bonferroni)
Conclude corresponding group means are significantly different
Calculate and interpret the effect size in one-way ANOVA
Effect size measures magnitude of difference among group means, independent of sample size
Common effect size measures:
Eta-squared (η2): Proportion of in dependent variable explained by independent variable (groups), η2=Total sum of squaresSum of squares between groups
Omega-squared (ω2): Unbiased estimate of population effect size, ω2=Total sum of squares+Mean square within groupsSum of squares between groups−(k−1)×Mean square within groups
Cohen's guidelines for η2: 0.01 (small), 0.06 (medium), 0.14 (large)
Larger effect sizes indicate greater proportion of variance in dependent variable explained by independent variable (groups)
Reporting effect size with F-statistic and p-value provides comprehensive understanding of results and facilitates cross-study comparisons