Skip to ContentGo to accessibility pageKeyboard shortcuts menu
OpenStax Logo

The purpose of a one-way ANOVA test is to determine the existence of a statistically significant difference among several group means. The test actually uses variances to help determine if the means are equal or not. In order to perform a one-way ANOVA test, there are five basic assumptions to be fulfilled:

  1. Each population from which a sample is taken is assumed to be normal.
  2. All samples are randomly selected and independent.
  3. The populations are assumed to have equal standard deviations (or variances).
  4. The factor is a categorical variable.
  5. The response is a numerical variable.

The Null and Alternative Hypotheses

The null hypothesis is simply that all the group population means are the same. The alternative hypothesis is that at least one pair of means is different. For example, if there are k groups:

H0:μ1=μ2=μ3=. . .μkH0:μ1=μ2=μ3=. . .μk

HaHa: At least two of the group means μ1,μ2,μ3,. . . ,μkμ1,μ2,μ3,. . . ,μk are not equal. That is, μi μjμi μj for some i ji j.

The graphs, a set of box plots representing the distribution of values with the group means indicated by a horizontal line through the box, help in the understanding of the hypothesis test. In the first graph (red box plots), H0: μ1 = μ2 = μ3 and the three populations have the same distribution if the null hypothesis is true. The variance of the combined data is approximately the same as the variance of each of the populations.

If the null hypothesis is false, then the variance of the combined data is larger which is caused by the different means as shown in the second graph (green box plots).

The first illustration shows three vertical boxplots with equal means. The second illustration shows three vertical boxplots with unequal means.
Figure 12.3 (a) H0 is true. All means are the same; the differences are due to random variation. (b) H0 is not true. All means are not the same; the differences are too large to be due to random variation.
Citation/Attribution

This book may not be used in the training of large language models or otherwise be ingested into large language models or generative AI offerings without OpenStax's permission.

Want to cite, share, or modify this book? This book uses the Creative Commons Attribution License and you must attribute OpenStax.

Attribution information
  • If you are redistributing all or part of this book in a print format, then you must include on every physical page the following attribution:
    Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/introductory-business-statistics-2e/pages/1-introduction
  • If you are redistributing all or part of this book in a digital format, then you must include on every digital page view the following attribution:
    Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/introductory-business-statistics-2e/pages/1-introduction
Citation information

© Jul 18, 2024 OpenStax. Textbook content produced by OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License . The OpenStax name, OpenStax logo, OpenStax book covers, OpenStax CNX name, and OpenStax CNX logo are not subject to the Creative Commons license and may not be reproduced without the prior and express written consent of Rice University.