0
$\begingroup$

In ANOVA the assumption is made that the population variances of the different groups are the same. Assuming $H_0$ is correct, all population means are also the same. In this case, would it not be easier to simply assume that all observations come from the same single population? I do not see how this makes a difference in calculation, but conceptually a single population is easier to imagine and work with. Did I miss something?

$\endgroup$
4
  • $\begingroup$ I don't really understand what you ask about. Could uou clarify? But see stats.stackexchange.com/questions/76151/… $\endgroup$ Commented Apr 8, 2021 at 13:36
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ "Come from the same single population" will work but is (far) more restrictive unless you also assume all distributions are Normal. $\endgroup$
    – whuber
    Commented Apr 8, 2021 at 14:28
  • $\begingroup$ @whuber: and the normal distribution assumption is not always made? (I implicitly assumed it is.) $\endgroup$ Commented Apr 8, 2021 at 18:02
  • $\begingroup$ It is rare for the Normal distribution assumption to hold exactly. What matters is that the sampling distributions of the ANOVA statistics be close enough to their reference distributions (usually F ratio distributions) to produce reliable p-values. This permits a (much) broader application of ANOVA than would otherwise be possible. $\endgroup$
    – whuber
    Commented Apr 8, 2021 at 18:07

0

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.