The Analysis of Variance

The analysis of variance (ANOYA) models have become one of the most widely used tools of modern statistics for analyzing multifactor data. The ANOYA models provide versatile statistical tools for studying the relationship between a dependent variable and one or more independent variables. The ANOYA mod­ els are employed to determine whether different variables interact and which factors or factor combinations are most important. They are appealing because they provide a conceptually simple technique for investigating statistical rela­ tionships among different independent variables known as factors. Currently there are several texts and monographs available on the sub­ ject. However, some of them such as those of Scheffe (1959) and Fisher and McDonald (1978), are written for mathematically advanced readers, requiring a good background in calculus, matrix algebra, and statistical theory; whereas others such as Guenther (1964), Huitson (1971), and Dunn and Clark (1987), although they assume only a background in elementary algebra and statistics, treat the subject somewhat scantily and provide only a superficial discussion of the random and mixed effects analysis of variance.