The ANOVA formula is the abbreviation of the Analysis of the variance formula.

Analysis of variance (ANOVA) is an analysis tool used in statistics that

segregates an observed mean variability found inside a data set into two parts
namely the systematic factors and random factors. The systematic factors have a
statistical influence on the given data set, while the random factors do not.
Examiners apply the ANOVA test to define the influence that independent
variables have on the dependent variable in a regression study.
In this article, we will study the ANOVA formula, ANOVA full form, and ANOVA
statistics with solved ANOVA example problems.

Anova Full Form

The ANOVA full form is the Analysis of variance formula, the ANOVA formula is a
strong statistical technique and it is generally used to show the variation between
two or more means or components through consequence tests. The ANOVA full
form and by the way we define ANOVA it will help us to show a way to make
multiple comparisons of several populations.
The Anova formula is used by comparing two types of variation, the variation
between the sample means, as well as the variation within each of the samples.
The below-mentioned formula represents one-way Anova test statistics.
ANOVA Test is used to analyze the differences among the means of various groups using certain
estimation procedures. ANOVA means analysis of variance. ANOVA test is a statistical
significance test that is used to check whether the null hypothesis can be rejected or not during
hypothesis testing.

An ANOVA test can be either one-way or two-way depending upon the number of independent
variables. In this article, we will learn more about an ANOVA test, the one-way ANOVA and two-
way ANOVA, its formulas and see certain associated examples.

ANOVA test, in its simplest form, is used to check whether the means of three or more
populations are equal or not. The ANOVA test applies when there are more than two
independent groups. The goal of the ANOVA test is to check for variability within the groups as
well as the variability among the groups. The ANOVA test statistic is given by the f test.

ANOVA test can be defined as a type of test used in hypothesis testing to compare whether the
means of two or more groups are equal or not. This test is used to check if the null hypothesis
can be rejected or not depending upon the statistical significance exhibited by the parameters.
The decision is made by comparing the ANOVA test statistic with the critical value.

uppose it needs to be determined if consumption of a certain type of tea will result in a mean
weight loss. Let there be three groups using three types of tea - green tea, earl grey tea, and
jasmine tea. Thus, to compare if there was any mean weight loss exhibited by a certain group,
the ANOVA test (one way) will be used.

Suppose a survey was conducted to check if there is an interaction between income and gender
with anxiety level at job interviews. To conduct such a test a two-way ANOVA will be used.
 One Way ANOVA

The one way ANOVA test is used to determine whether there is any difference between the
means of three or more groups. A one way ANOVA will have only one independent variable.
One-Way ANOVA: This test is used to see if there is a variation in the mean values of three or
more groups. Such a test is used where the data set has only one independent variable. If the
test statistic exceeds the critical value, the null hypothesis is rejected, and the averages of at
least two different groups are significant statistically

The hypothesis for a one way ANOVA test can be set up as follows:

The steps to perform the one way ANOVA test are given below:

• Step 1: Calculate the mean for each group.

• Step 2: Calculate the total mean. This is done by adding all the means and dividing it by the
total number of means.
• Step 3: Calculate the SSB.
• Step 4: Calculate the between groups degrees of freedom.
• Step 5: Calculate the SSE.
• Step 6: Calculate the degrees of freedom of errors.
• Step 7: Determine the MSB and the MSE.
• Step 8: Find the f test statistic.
• Step 9: Using the f table for the specified level of significance, α𝛼𝛼, find the critical value. This
is given by F(α𝛼𝛼, df1. df2).
• Step 10: If f > F then reject the null hypothesis.

Limitations of One Way ANOVA Test

The one way ANOVA is an omnibus test statistic. This implies that the test will determine
whether the means of the various groups are statistically significant or not. However, it cannot
distinguish the specific groups that have a statistically significant mean. Thus, to find the
specific group with a different mean, a post hoc test needs to be conducted.
Example 1: Three different kinds of food are tested on three groups of rats for 5 weeks. The
objective is to check the difference in mean weight(in grams) of the rats per week. Apply
one-way ANOVA using a 0.05 significance level to the following data:

Food I Food II Food III

8 4 11

12 5 8

19 4 7

8 6 13

6 9 7

11 7 9
Solution:
H0: μ1= μ2=μ3
H1: The means are not equal
Since, X� 1 = 5, X� 2 = 9, X� 3 = 10
Total mean = X� = 8
SSB = 6(5 – 8)2 + 6(9 – 8)2 + 6(10 – 8)2 = 84
SSE = 68
MSB = SSB/df1 = 42
MSE = SSE/df2 = 4.53
f = MSB/MSE = 42/4.53 = 9.33
Since f > F, the null hypothesis stands rejected.
Example 2: Calculate the ANOVA coefficient for the following data:
Plant Number Average span s

Hibiscus 5 12 2

Marigold 5 16 1

Rose 5 20 4
Solution:
Plant n x s s2

Hibiscus 5 12 2 4
 Plant n x s s2

Marigold 5 16 1 1

Rose 5 20 4 16
p=3
n=5
N = 15
x̄ = 16
SST = Σn(x−x̄)2
SST= 5(12 − 16)2 + 5(16 − 16)2 + 11(20 − 16)2 = 160
MST = SST/p-1 = 160/3-1 = 80
SSE = ∑ (n−1) = 4 (4 + 1) + 4(16) = 84
MSE = 7
F = MST/MSE = 80/7

F = 11.429
Example 3: The following data show the number of worms quarantined from the GI areas of
four groups of muskrats in a carbon tetrachloride anthelmintic study. Conduct a two-way
ANOVA test.
I II III IV

338 412 124 389

324 387 353 432

268 400 469 255

147 233 222 133

309 212 111 265

Solution:
Source of Degrees of
Variation Sum of Squares Freedom Mean Square

Between the
62111.6 8 9078.067
groups

Within the
98787.8 16 4567.89
groups
 Source of Degrees of
Variation Sum of Squares Freedom Mean Square

Total 167771.4 24
Since F = MST / MSE
= 9.4062 / 3.66
F = 2.57

Two Way ANOVA

Two-Way ANOVA: Two independent variables are used in the two-way ANOVA. As a result, it
can be viewed as an extension of a one-way ANOVA in which only one variable influences the
dependent variable. A two-way ANOVA test is used to determine the main effect of each
independent variable and whether there is an interaction effect. Each factor is examined
independently to determine the main effect, as in a one-way ANOVA. Furthermore, all
components are analyzed at the same time to test the interaction impact.
 The two way ANOVA has two independent variables. Thus, it can be thought of as an extension
of a one way ANOVA where only one variable affects the dependent variable. A two way
ANOVA test is used to check the main effect of each independent variable and to see if there is
an interaction effect between them. To examine the main effect, each factor is considered
separately as done in a one way ANOVA. Furthermore, to check the interaction effect, all
factors are considered at the same time. There are certain assumptions made for a two way
ANOVA test. These are given as follows:

• The samples drawn from the population must be independent.

• The population should be approximately normally distributed.
• The groups should have the same sample size.
• The population variances are equal

Suppose in the two way ANOVA example, as mentioned above, the income groups are low,
middle, high. The gender groups are female, male, and transgender. Then there will be 9
treatment groups and the three hypotheses can be set up as follows:

H01𝐻𝐻01: All income groups have equal mean anxiety.

H11𝐻𝐻11: All income groups do not have equal mean anxiety.

H02𝐻𝐻02: All gender groups have equal mean anxiety.

H12𝐻𝐻12: All gender groups do not have equal mean anxiety.

H03𝐻𝐻03: Interaction effect does not exist

H13𝐻𝐻13: Interaction effect exists.

Important Notes on ANOVA Test

• ANOVA test is used to check whether the means of three or more groups are different or not
by using estimation parameters such as the variance.
• An ANOVA table is used to summarize the results of an ANOVA test.
• There are two types of ANOVA tests - one way ANOVA and two way ANOVA
• One way ANOVA has only one independent variable while a two way ANOVA has two
independent variables.