These acronyms correspond to “Analysis of Variance” in English and refer to a statistical method or tool, also known in Spanish as one-factor analysis of variance.
What is ANOVA?
It is one of the most widely used statistical techniques to compare groups of measures and is usually used to establish similarities and differences between three or more different groups. Through ANOVA, an analysis is established to comparatively evaluate results in different classifications or groups. In this way, it is possible to calculate whether the mean values are the same in the different groups studied.
This comparative analysis is carried out in those contexts in which the groups studied are independent of each other, but the global comparison of them can offer statistical results that are of interest. In short, the results obtained indicate whether the mean values between two or more groups are similar or different. If the one-way ANOVA analysis is not used, the differences between the different groups studied would depend on the subjective observation of each observer.
Two practical ANOVA cases
This tool is used to know the variance that exists in a factor with respect to a quantitative dependent variable. Thus, if we carry out a study in which three different groups of pathologies are analyzed and the intensity of pain is measured in each of them, the factor would be the pathology with three levels and the quantitative dependent variable would be pain measured with an instrument, for example an argometer.
In an engine factory that has two battery suppliers, another supplier appears that offers its battery at a higher price but with better technical properties. The factory managers do a test comparing 10 batteries from the new supplier with 10 batteries from their two traditional suppliers. The results obtained after the comparison show evidence of the superiority of the new provider and, consequently, it is useful to incorporate the ANOVA technique.
The use of ANOVA as a statistical tool is particularly useful in those situations in which it is necessary to analyze viable alternatives
In ANOVA, three elements are normally considered: the variable under study, the constant that indicates the response of all the groups analyzed and the differential factor of each group.
One-way ANOVA is very popular in psychology and most social science studies.
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