f test

a test of whether two variances are significantly different from each other.

Strictly speaking, an F test is a test of two variances. (Is the variance of this group bigger than the variance of that group?) However, the F test is best known as the statistical test that is used in an ANOVA.

In an ANOVA, an F test determines whether a series of groups (people taking drug A, drug B, or no drug) differ from each other on the dependent variable. Technically, an F test in an ANOVA is still testing variances. It is determining if the variance of the means (ie how spread out they are) is larger than you would expect. D

In an ANOVA, an F test determines whether a series of groups (people taking drug A, drug B, or no drug) differ from each other on the dependent variable.

An F score is the first variance divided by the second variance. The score lies on the F distribution.

See our tutorial, #1how-to-calculate-f.html">how to calculate an F score for more information on F.