ABSTRACT
In the previous topic, the use of the t test for testing the null hypothesis for the observed difference between two sample means was covered. An alternative test for this problem is analysis of variance (often called ANOVA). Instead of t, it yields a statistic called F, 1 as well as degrees of freedom (df ), sum of squares, mean square, and a p value, which indicates the probability that the null hypothesis is correct. As with the t test, the only value of interest to the typical consumer of research is the value of p. By convention, when p equals .05 or less (such as .01 or .001), researchers reject the null hypothesis and declare the result to be statistically significant.
