ANOVA

Analysis of Variance

Most Useful when Conducting

Experiments
ANOVA
The test you choose depends on level of measurement:
Independent Dependent Statistical Test

Dichotomous Interval-ratio Independent Samples t-test

Dichotomous

Nominal Nominal Cross Tabs

Dichotomous Dichotomous

Nominal Interval-ratio ANOVA

Dichotomous Dichotomous

Interval-ratio Interval-ratio Correlation and OLS Regression

Dichotomous
ANOVA
 Sometimes we want to know whether the mean
level on one continuous variable (such as
income) is different for each group relative to the
others in a nominal variable (such as degree
received).
 We could use descriptive statistics (the mean
income) to compare the groups (sociology BA
vs. MA vs. PhD).
 However, as sociologists, we usually want to use
a sample to determine whether groups are
different in the population.
ANOVA
 ANOVA is an inferential statistics technique that
allows you to compare the mean level on one
interval-ratio variable (such as income) for each
group relative to the others in a nominal variable
(such as degree).
 If you had only two groups to compare, ANOVA
would give the same answer as an independent
samples t-test.
ANOVA
 One typically uses ANOVA in experiments because these
typically involve comparing persons in experimental
conditions with those in control conditions to see if the
experimental conditions affect people.
Independent Dependent
Nominal Variable Interval-ratio Variable
Experimental Grouping Outcome Variable

 For example: Is “Diff’rent Strokes” funnier than ”Charles in

Charge?”
Experiment:
Do kids exposed to “Diff’rent Strokes” laugh more than those
who watch “Charles in Charge?”

Expose Groups to a Show Record Amount of Laughter

 We then use the sample to make inferences about the

population.
ANOVA
What if three racial groups had incomes distributed like this
in your sample?
All Groups

Income in $Ks
Groups Broken Down

Income in $Ks
Isn’t it conceivable that the differences are due to natural random
variability between samples? Would you want to claim they are
different in the population?
ANOVA
Now…What if three racial groups had incomes distributed
like this in your sample?
All Groups Combined

Income in $Ks
Groups Separated Out

Income in $Ks
Doesn’t it now appear that the groups may be different regardless of
sampling variability? Would you feel comfortable claiming the
groups are different in the population?
 ANOVA
 Conceptually, ANOVA compares the variance within
groups to the overall variance between all the groups to
determine whether the groups appear distinct from each
other or if they look quite the same.

Categories
of Nominal
Variable

Measures on
Continuous
Variable

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Y-bar Y-bar Y-bar Y-bars
Different groups, different means. Similar groups, similar means.
 ANOVA

When the groups have little variation

within themselves, but large variation
between them, it would appear that they
are distinct and that their means are
different.

Y-bar Y-bar Y-bar Y-bars

Different groups, different means. Similar groups, similar means.
 ANOVA

When the groups have a lot of variation

within themselves, but little variation
between them, it would appear that they
are similar and that their means are not
really different (perhaps they differ only
because of peculiarities of the particular
sample).

Y-bar Y-bar Y-bar Y-bars

Different groups, different means. Similar groups, similar means.
ANOVA
 Let’s call the the between groups variation:
Between Variance: Between Sum of Squares, BSS/df
 Let’s call the within groups variation:
Within Variance: Within Sum of Squares, WSS/df
 ANOVA compares Between Variance to Within Variance
through a ratio we will call F. F = BSS/g-1
WSS/n-g

Y-bar Y-bar Y-bar

ANOVA
 So what are these BSS and WSS things?
 Remember our friend “Variance?”

 What we are doing is separating out our

dependent variable’s overall variance for all
groups into that which is attributable to the
deviations of groups’ means from the overall
mean (B) and deviations of individuals’ scores
from their own group’s mean (W).
ANOVA
Variance:
Deviation Yi – Y-bar
Squared Deviation (Yi – Y-bar)2
Sum of Squares Σ(Yi – Y-bar)2
Variance Σ(Yi – Y-bar)2
n–1
(Standard Deviation) Σ(Yi – Y-bar)2
n–1
 ANOVA
Separating Variance
Take your continuous variable and separate scores into groups according to
your nominal variable
Between Variance Within Variance
Deviation : Y-barg – Y-barbig Deviation : Yi – Y-barg
Squared Deviation: (Y-barg – Y-barbig)2 Squared Deviation: (Yi – Y-barg)2
Weight by number
of people in each
group: ng *(Y-barg – Y-barbig)2

Sum of Squares: Sum of Squares: Σ (Σ (Yi – Y-barg)2)

Σ (ng *(Y-barg – Y-barbig)2)
Variance: Σ (Σ(Yi – Y-barg)2)
Variance: Σ (ng *(Y-barg – Y-barbig)2) n–g

g–1
… or BSS/g-1 … or WSS/n-g

Y-barg = Each Group’s Mean Y-barbig= Overall Mean

g = # of Groups ng = # of Cases in Each Group
Yi = Each Data Point in a Group n = # of Cases in Overall Sample
ANOVA
F = BSS/g-1
WSS/n-g

As WSS gets larger, F gets smaller. Y-bar Y-bar Y-bar

As WSS gets smaller, F gets larger.

Y-bar Y-bar Y-bar

So, as F gets smaller, the groups are less distinct. As F gets larger, the
groups are more distinct.
ANOVA

In repeated sampling, if there were no

group differences, that ratio “F” would be
distributed in a particular way.

Distribution of “F” over repeated sampling,

recording a new F every time.
ANOVA
 The F distribution is like the normal curve, t distribution, and chi-
squared distribution: we know that there is a critical F that
demarcates the value beyond which the values of the rarest 5% of
F’s will fall.

Critical F

Most extreme
5% of F’s

What if your sample’s F

were this large?
ANOVA

Critical F

Most extreme
5% of F’s

 One other thing to note is that, like chi-squared, there

are different F distributions depending on the degrees of
freedom (df) of the BSS and the WSS. E.g., F(g-1, n-g).
 BSS df: # of groups in your nominal variable minus 1
 WSS df: # of cases in sample minus number of groups
ANOVA
Look what I found on the web. F distribution changes shape
depending on your sample size and the number of groups you
are comparing:
ANOVA
Null: Group means are equal; 1 = 2 = …= g

Alternative: At least one group’s mean is different

So… if F is larger than the critical F:

Reject the Null in favor of the alternative!
ANOVA
 If your F is in the most extreme 5% of F’s that
could occur by chance if your two variables were
unrelated, you have good evidence that your F
might not have come from a population where
the means for each group are equal.

 So, essentially, ANOVA uses your sample to tell

you whether, in the population, you have
overlapping group distributions (no difference
between means) or fairly distinct group
distributions (differences between means).
ANOVA
Conducting a Test of Significance for the Difference between Two or More
Groups’ Means—ANOVA

By using what we know about the F-ratio, we can tell if our sample could
have come from a population where groups’ means are equal.

1. Set -level (e.g., .05)

2. Find Critical F (depends on BSS and WSS df and -level)
3. State the null and alternative hypotheses:
Ho: 1 = 2 = . . . = n
Ha: At least one group’s mean does not equal the others’
4. Collect and Analyze Data
5. Calculate F: F = BSS/ g – 1 = Σ (ng * (Y-barg – Y-barbig)2)/g-1
WSS/ n – g Σ(Σ(Yi – Y-barg)2)/n-g
6. Make decision about the null hypothesis (is F > Fcrit?)
7. Find P-value
ANOVA
An Example:
A sociologist wants to know which among a set of
HIV education programs is more effective at
reducing risky sexual behavior. These include 1)
Abstinence Promotion, 2) Promotion of
Condoms, 3) Sex Education, or 4) 1 – 3
Combined.
She will collect data from 300 high school students
and collect data on self-reports of risky sexual
behavior six months later.
ANOVA
Four Conditions with 300 Students:
By using what we know about the F-ratio, we can tell if our sample could have come
from a population where groups’ means are equal.

1. Set -level: .05

2. Find Critical F: Fcrit(3, 296) = 2.6
3. State the null and alternative hypotheses:
Ho: 1 = 2 = 3 = 4
Ha: At least one group’s mean does not equal the others’
4. Collect Data: Abstinence Condoms Sex Ed All 3 Total
n: 125 75 50 50 300
Y-bar: 1.3 1.5 1.4 1.1 1.33
s: 0.40 0.42 0.45 0.38
(BTW: These are fake data.)
4. Calculate F: F = BSS/ g – 1 = Σ (ng * (Y-barg – Y-barbig)2)/g-1
WSS/ n – g Σ(Σ(Yi – Y-barg)2)/n-g
6. Make decision about the null hypothesis
7. Find P-value
ANOVA
4. Collect Data: Abstinence Condoms Sex Ed All 3 Total
n: 125 75 50 50 300
Y-bar: 1.3 1.5 1.4 1.1 1.33
s: 0.40 0.42 0.45 0.38

5. Calculate F: F = BSS/ g – 1 = Σ (ng * (Y-barg – Y-barbig)2)/g-1

WSS/ n – g Σ(Σ(Yi – Y-barg)2)/n-g

BSS = 125(1.3 – 1.33)2 + 75(1.5 – 1.33)2 + 50(1.4 – 1.33)2 + 50(1.1 – 1.33)2

= .1125 + 2.168 + .245 + 2.645 = 5.171
WSS = Hmmm… WSS has to be “uncovered” by using the formula for s to find the SS (in numerator of
within variance) for each group.

Σ(Yi – Y-barg)2 = SSg

sg = (Yi – Y-barg)2/n-1 sg = SSg/n-1 sg2 = SSg/n-1 (n-1)sg2 = SSg

SS1= (125 – 1)*(.40)2 = 19.84 SS3= (50 – 1)*(.45)2 = 9.923

SS2= (75 – 1)*(.42)2 = 13.05 SS4= (50 – 1)*(.38)2 = 7.076

WSS = SS1 + SS2 + SS3 + SS4

WSS = 19.84 + 13.05 + 9.923 + 7.076 = 49.89

BSS/g-1 = 5.171/3 = 1.724

F = 1.724 / 0.1685 = 10.23
WSS/n-g = 49.89/296 = 0.1685
ANOVA
5. Calculate F: F = BSS/ g – 1 = Σ (ng (Y-barg – Y-barbig)2)/g-1
WSS/ n – g Σ(Σ(Yi – Y-barg)2)/n-g

BSS = 125(1.3 – 1.33)2 + 75(1.5 – 1.33)2 + 50(1.4 – 1.33)2 + 50(1.1 – 1.33)2

= .1125 + 2.168 + .245 + 2.645 = 5.171

WSS = Hmmm… WSS has to be “uncovered” by using the formula for s.d. to find the SS (in numerator
of variance) for each group.

s.d.g = (Yi – Y-barg)2/n-1 s.d. g = SSg/n-1 s.d. g2 = SSg/n-1 (n-1)s.d. g2 = SSg

SS1= (125 – 1)*(.40)2 = 19.84 SS3= (50 – 1)*(.45)2 = 9.923

SS2= (75 – 1)*(.42)2 = 13.05 SS4= (50 – 1)*(.38)2 = 7.076

WSS = 19.84 + 13.05 + 9.923 + 7.076 = 49.89

BSS/g-1 = 5.171/3 = 1.724 F = 1.724 / 0.1685 = 10.23

WSS/n-g = 49.89/296 = 0.1685

6. Make decision about the null hypothesis: 10.23 > 2.6 (Fcrit); so reject the null

7. Find P-value: P < .001

We have a very low chance (almost 0%) that we got our sample from a
population whose group means are all equal
ANOVA
Question: We know that at least one mean is
different from another. We don’t know which
one. Now what?

Answer: We do a post-hoc test to see which

means are different from each other.

A post-hoc test (“after the fact test”) is a series of

independent samples t-tests comparing each
group’s mean to each of the others’ means.
ANOVA
Conducting the t-tests, you will have g(g-1)/2 pairs
of t-tests.
In our example, we will have 4 (4-1)/2 or 6
comparisons.
But before you go off doing all these t-tests,
remember that with statistics we play the odds.
In a series of t-tests, just by chance you are likely
to encounter type 1 errors where you falsely
reject a true null. How many true nulls would be
rejected in a series of 100 t-tests whose -levels
were .05? Answer: 5
ANOVA
Because of the likelihood of multiple comparison errors,
statisticians have created ways to reduce the multiple
comparison error rate.

One of these is the Bonferroni, which adjusts the -level for

each comparison by the number of comparisons. This
lowers the likelihood of rejection in each test, making the
joint -level equal to the original -level.

In our example, .05/6 = .008. So -level for each

comparison becomes .008. The combined likelihood of
a type 1 error will be .05.
ANOVA
In our example, the critical t is 2.41 for -level =.008.

t = (Y-bargb – Y-barga)/ s.e.; s.e. = wss/n-g * 1/ngb + 1/nga

When I calculate the t-scores, I get that each group is significantly

different from all others:

“All 3” is most effective, followed by abstinence, then sex ed, then

condoms

Therefore, we have evidence suggesting that teaching all three

methods works best, while just focusing on condoms is worst in
terms of preventing risky sexual behavior.
Abstinence Condoms Sex Ed All 3 Total
n: 125 75 50 50 300
Y-bar: 1.3 1.5 1.4 1.1 1.33
ANOVA
Something to look up in the future:

There are other post-hoc tests out there. For Example:

Scheffe’s Test
Tukey Test
These will often allow you to not only compare each group
to the others one at a time, but they will also allow you to
combine groups to test each group against the
combination of the others.
In our example, we might want to collapse abstinence,
condoms, and sex ed into one group of 250 to compare
against the “all 3 methods” group of 50.
ANOVA

Now let’s do an example using SPSS.

We’ll explore whether Race affects
education.
Race Education

Null: White Mean = Black Mean = Others Mean

Alternative: At least one race’s mean is different.