ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE (ANOVA)

What is this test for?

The one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) is used to determine whether there are any
significant differences between the means of three or more independent (unrelated) groups. This
guide will provide a brief introduction to the one-way ANOVA, including the assumptions of the
test and when you should use this test.
What does this test do?
The one-way ANOVA compares the means between the groups you are interested in and
determines whether any of those means are significantly different from each other. Specifically,
it tests the null hypothesis:

where = group mean and k = number of groups. If, however, the one-way ANOVA returns a
significant result, we accept the alternative hypothesis (HA), which is that there are at least 2
group means that are significantly different from each other.
ASSUMPTIONS REQUIRED TO CONDUCT A ONE-WAY ANOVA
a) Independence of observations
b) Homogeneity of variance
c) Scores/observations normally distributed in each group (and in each parent population).

ANOVA TABLE
Source

SS

df

MS

Sig.

Between

SSb

k-1

MSb

MSb/MSw

p value

Within

SSw

N-k

MSw

Total

SSb + SSw

N-1

An example:
Source

SS

df

MS

Sig.

Between

91.476

45.733

4.467

.021

Within

276.400

27

10.237

Total

367.867

29

Steps for TEST One-Way ANOVA

1. Define Null and Alternative Hypotheses

2. State Alpha
3. Calculate Test Statistic

4. State Critical region

5. State Decision Rule

7. State Conclusion

Example 1
The experiment was carried out in laboratory to investigate the amount of drug in medicine. The drug
have a three brands and five samples are selected at random from each brand. Find the analysis of
variance (ANOVA) table.

Test the hypothesis that there is no difference of the amount of dirt removed among the three
brands at the 0.05 level of significant.

Example 2
Researchers want to test a new anti-anxiety medication. They split participants into three
conditions (0mg, 50mg, and 100mg), then ask them to rate their anxiety level on a scale of 1-10.
Are there any differences between the three conditions using alpha = 0.05?

Example 3
A new treatment meant to help those with chronic arthritis pain was developed and tested for its
long-tern effectiveness. Participants in the experiment rated their level of pain on a 0 (no pain) to
9 (extreme pain) scale at three-month intervals. Was the treatment effective? = .05.

Participant

Before

3mo

6mo

9mo

Example 4
A pool of participants was randomly divided into FIVE treatment groups. The groups were
administered daily doses of vitamin C over a 12-month period. The data in the table represents
the number of cold and flu viruses reported by the participant as a function of their vitamin C
dosage. Using = .05, analyze the data using the correct statistical procedure.
0mg

250mg

500mg

1000mg

2000mg

Example 5

Between Group
Within Group
Total

Df

Sum of squares

4
A
29

85356.4667
124020.3333
209376.8000

Find the value of A,B,C and D

Mean Square
Variance
B
C

F
D