DERIVATIONS CHAPTER 7

One-Way ANOVA Formula

Reaching the point at which you can define F as the ratio of MSB and MSw, begins with the
understanding that F is closely related to 2. Both the ANOVA and the chi-square test compare
independent-variable categories. The chi-square test does so with respect to category frequencies
and the ANOVA does so with respect to category means. However, as you know from Chapter 3,
means are really just frequencies divided by their respective sample sizes. Thus, 2values
comprise a substantial portion of the F ratio.
Specifically, the definition of F presents it as the ratio between two 2 values, each divided by
their respective degrees of freedom. So,

F=

eq. 7.0.1

assuming that the 2 values are independent. Remembering that, for the one-variable 2 test,
df=K-1, you can rewrite Equation 7.0.1 as

F=

The equivalence between 2 and

eq. 7.0.2

allows for further substitution, changing Equation 7.0.2

into

This equality is based upon Equation 3.?, which presents the formula for the variance of data set, and
algebraic manipulations of Equation 5.4. According to Equation 3.?,
S2 =

Therefore, (n-1)s2 = (x - )2. The second of these terms appears in Equation 5.4, which states
2

Distributive property allows this equation to be restated as

F=

eq. 7.0.3

Because of the assumption of equal population variances, you can assert that
equality, along with cancellation of K-1 terms, produces
F= .

. This

eq. 7.0.4

This form of F clearly identifies it as the ratio between two variances. The value in the numerator
corresponds to the variance represented by the between groups mean square and the value in the
denominator corresponds to the variance represented by the within groups mean square. The
resulting formula of
F=

eq. 7.1

is the recognized equation for F and appears in Chapter 7.

When substituting (n-1)s2 into the numerator of Equation 5.4, the formula for 2 becomes

The ANOVA, however, focuses upon differences between category means, not individual scores within a
category. So, instead of referencing the number of scores within a data set (n-1), it references the number of
category means (K-1), making