DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF ONE WAY ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE

Analysis of variance (ANOVA) is the method u sed to compare continuous measurements to determine if the measurements are sampled from the same or different distributions. It is an analytical tool used to determine the significance of factors on measurements by looking at the relationship between a qu antitative "response variable" and a proposed explanatory "factor." This method is similar to the process of comparing the statistical difference between two samples, in that it invokes the concept of hypothesis testing. Instead of comparing two samples, h owever, a variable is correlated with one or more explanatory factors, typically using the F - statistic. From this F - statistic, the P - value can be calculated to see if the difference is significant. For example, if the P - value is low (P - value<0.05 or P - valu e<0.01 - this depends on desired level of significance), then there is a low probability that the two groups are the same. The method is highly versatile in that it can be used to analyze complicated systems, with numerous variables and factors.