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ANOVA Results for Experiments – Multiple Comparisons

In analysis of variance (ANOVA), a ratio comparing observed between group variance to the error term is used to test hypotheses about the equivalence among groups. This ratio, called the F-ratio, employs the variance of group means as a measure of observed differences among groups. An advantage that an ANOVA has over a simple t-test is that it can test whether all the group means are equivalent. Related methods, the use of contrasts, can test for specific group equivalences, and can be adjusted to take into account multiple tests performed on the same sample. The t-test only tests for the equivalence between two means.

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Developed 2006 by the Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center, Northern Illinois University.