The classic way to compare means in analysis of variance is examining pairwise differences in means after an F test.. It’s great for many problems, but sometimes your research question isn’t about pairwise differences.
Pairwise differences are not ideal if your research question is if, like the Sesame Street song, one of these groups is not like the others. Perhaps, you are trying to assure that groups conform to a common standard. Analysis of Means (ANOM) helps in all these settings. (more…)