Introduction to analysis of variance

ANOVA (analysis of variance) is the mainstay of most general textbooks and courses on applied statistics. Open any book aimed at advanced undergraduate level to intermediate graduates, and often half the chapters are illustrated using ANOVA. Statistically oriented packages such as SAS employ ANOVA throughout their basic routines. A statistician working in industry is likely to use ANOVA daily as his or her most common technique employed to determine whether a variable or factor or model is significant. Many applied statisticians are primarily interested in this and are often employed, for example, in industry, to design and analyse experiments, whether clinical trials or consumer preference or agricultural practices.