Power and Precision for the One-Way ANOVA: A Model Comparison Perspective

Ken Kelley

August 2026

This vignette plans, estimates, and reasons about a one-way between-subjects analysis of variance using the framework of Maxwell, Delaney, and Kelley (2027): the comparison of a full model against a restricted model. The same logic that produces the omnibus F test produces its power, its effect size, the confidence interval for that effect size, the power of a focused contrast, and the sample size needed for either a decision or a precise estimate. Each quantity is first worked by hand, so the arithmetic is visible, and then obtained from the DMAR function that encapsulates it, with a note on what that function is doing internally.

Two Models, One Question

Every test in the model comparison perspective asks one question: how much worse does the data fit once the null hypothesis is imposed? Write a full model that lets each group have its own mean,

$$Y_{ij} = \mu_j + \varepsilon_{ij},$$

and a restricted model that forces a single common mean,

$$Y_{ij} = \mu + \varepsilon_{ij}.$$

The omnibus null hypothesis is the restriction $\mu_1 = \mu_2 = \cdots = \mu_a$, which collapses every group onto the grand mean. The treatment effects $\alpha_j = \mu_j - \mu$ are exactly the per-observation discrepancies between the two models’ predictions. With $E_F$ and $E_R$ the error sums of squares of the full and restricted models, the test statistic always has the same shape,

$$F = \frac{(E_R - E_F)/(df_R - df_F)}{E_F/df_F},$$

and the effect size is the proportional reduction in error, $\mathrm{PRE} = (E_R - E_F)/E_R$, which in the one-way design is the same number as eta squared. Power, estimation, and sample size planning all read off these quantities, so design and analysis speak one language.

The Four-Group Running Example

A researcher plans a four-condition study. Under the alternative hypothesis the population means are 90, 92, 88, and 81, homogeneity of variance is assumed with a common within-group variance of 144 (a within-group standard deviation of 12), and the plan calls for 20 participants per group.

mu_j          <- c(90, 92, 88, 81)
sigma_squared <- 144
sigma         <- sqrt(sigma_squared)
n_j           <- 20

a <- length(mu_j)
N <- n_j * a

mu      <- mean(mu_j)        # grand mean: the restricted model's one prediction
alpha_j <- mu_j - mu         # treatment effects: full minus restricted
alpha_j
#> [1]  2.25  4.25  0.25 -6.75

The reduction in error from the restricted to the full model is the between-groups sum of squares, which is the sum over all N observations of the squared discrepancy between the two models’ predictions. In error-variance units this is the noncentrality parameter that drives power:

$$\lambda = \frac{\sum_j n_j\,\alpha_j^2}{\sigma^2}.$$

reduction <- sum(n_j * alpha_j^2)   # population between-groups sum of squares
lambda    <- reduction / sigma_squared
lambda
#> [1] 9.548611

The Effect Size as a Proportional Reduction in Error

Cohen’s f is a population quantity, $f = \sigma_m / \sigma$, where $\sigma_m$ is the standard deviation of the population means. The one subtlety that has caused decades of confusion is the divisor of that variance. The variance of the means here is a property of a fixed set of parameters, so it divides by a, the number of groups, not by $a - 1$:

$$\sigma_m^2 = \frac{\sum_j (\mu_j - \mu)^2}{a} = \frac{\sum_j \alpha_j^2}{a}.$$

By hand:

sigma_squared_m <- sum(alpha_j^2) / a   # divisor a, not a - 1
sigma_m         <- sqrt(sigma_squared_m)
f_by_hand       <- sigma_m / sigma
f_by_hand
#> [1] 0.3454817

cohen_f() does this directly from the means and the within-group variance. It uses the population divisor internally, so the user never has to remember whether to divide by a or by $a - 1$:

cohen_f(mu = mu_j, sigma_squared = sigma_squared)

term	value
cohen_f	0.345

f <- cohen_f(mu = mu_j, sigma_squared = sigma_squared)$value

The same effect, expressed as the population proportional reduction in error (the population eta squared), is $\mathrm{PRE} = f^2 / (1 + f^2)$. The noncentrality, the proportional reduction in error, and f are three views of one quantity, and the convert_* family moves among them. Here the noncentrality maps to the population PRE and back:

PRE <- f^2 / (1 + f^2)
PRE
#> [1] 0.1066305

convert_lambda_R2(lambda = lambda, N = N)   # lambda to population PRE (= R^2)

term	value
lambda_r2	0.107

convert_R2_lambda(R2 = PRE,    N = N)       # and back to the noncentrality

term	value
r2_lambda	9.55

Off-the-shelf benchmarks for f are a last resort for when nothing is known about the design; a set of hypothesized means, as used here, is always the better input, because it ties the effect size to the actual scientific quantities rather than to a convention.

Power for the Omnibus Test

The comparison has numerator degrees of freedom $df_R - df_F = (N-1) - (N-a) = a - 1$ and denominator degrees of freedom $df_F = N - a$. Power is the area of the noncentral F distribution, centered at $\lambda$, that lies beyond the critical value taken from the central F. By hand:

df_numerator   <- a - 1
df_denominator <- N - a

critical_F <- qf(1 - .05, df1 = df_numerator, df2 = df_denominator)
pf(critical_F, df1 = df_numerator, df2 = df_denominator,
   ncp = lambda, lower.tail = FALSE)
#> [1] 0.7149725

ss_power_one_way_anova() returns the same value. Supplied with a total sample size N it reports the realized power; internally it forms $\lambda = N f^2$, sets the two degrees of freedom, and integrates the noncentral F beyond the central critical value exactly as above:

ss_power_one_way_anova(a = a, f = f, N = N, alpha_level = .05)

term	value
specified_N	80
a	4
noncentrality	9.55
actual_power	0.715

Planning the Sample Size

To plan rather than evaluate, hold the effect fixed and solve for the sample size that reaches a target power. The function searches over N, reporting the necessary total sample size and the per-group n:

ss_power_one_way_anova(a = a, f = f, desired_power = .80, alpha_level = .05)

term	value
necessary_N	96
n_per_group	24
a	4
noncentrality	11.5
actual_power	0.803

The Model Comparison, Made Literal

Everything above is a population calculation. To see the model comparison on actual data, simulate one data set under these parameters with simulate_anova_data(), fit the restricted and full models by maximum likelihood with mlmr(), and compare them with the likelihood ratio test. The likelihood ratio test is the sample analogue of $E_R - E_F$: it asks whether freeing the group means improves the fit by more than sampling noise would explain.

d <- simulate_anova_data(mu = mu_j, sigma = sigma, a = a, n = n_j)
head(d)
#>   group         y
#> 1     1  91.60025
#> 2     1 106.50266
#> 3     1  98.98458
#> 4     1  74.47379
#> 5     1  83.29475
#> 6     1  69.21061

restricted <- mlmr(y ~ 1,     data = d, ci_method = "wald", effect_sizes = FALSE)
full       <- mlmr(y ~ group, data = d, ci_method = "wald", effect_sizes = FALSE)

# Likelihood ratio test of the nested restricted model against the full model
anova(restricted, full)
#> Likelihood ratio test for nested mlmr fits
#> Model 2: y ~ group
#> Model 1: y ~ 1
#>         Df    AIC    BIC  Chisq Chisq diff Df diff Pr(>Chisq)   
#> Model 2  0 898.46 931.81  0.000                                 
#> Model 1  3 906.97 933.17 14.511     14.511       3   0.002286 **
#> ---
#> Signif. codes:  0 '***' 0.001 '**' 0.01 '*' 0.05 '.' 0.1 ' ' 1

# The sample proportional reduction in error for this same comparison
full$R2
#> [1] 0.1658905

The omnibus F from the ordinary least squares fit tells the same story, and its components are the sample $E_R - E_F$, $E_F$, and the degrees of freedom of the comparison:

fit_aov <- aov(y ~ group, data = d)
print_anova(anova(fit_aov))
#> Analysis of Variance Table
#> 
#> Response: y
#> 
#>           Df    Sum Sq  Mean Sq F value Pr(>F)
#> group      3  2543.688 847.8960 5.03838 0.0031
#> Residuals 76 12789.843 168.2874      NA   <NA>

Estimating the Effect Size With a Confidence Interval

Planning supposes an effect; analysis estimates one and states its uncertainty. Because the effect size is a proportional reduction in error, the natural deliverable is the estimate together with a confidence interval, obtained by inverting the noncentral F distribution (Kelley, 2007; Steiger, 2004). Given an observed F, DMAR finds the noncentrality values whose noncentral F distributions place the observed F at the chosen lower and upper tail probabilities (this is what conf_limits_ncf() does), then transforms those noncentrality endpoints into the metric requested: a proportion of variance, a signal to noise ratio, or its square root.

The canonical illustration in the literature is Bargman’s (1970) five-group analysis with 11 per group and an observed F of 11.221 (also used by Steiger, 2004). The point estimate of omega squared, a less biased estimator of the population proportion of variance than eta squared, travels with its interval:

os_est <- omega_squared(F_value = 11.221, df_effect = 4, df_error = 50,
                        N = 55)
os_est
#>    effect omega_squared F_value df_effect df_error  N
#> 1 overall     0.4263902  11.221         4       50 55
os_ci <- ci_omega_squared(F_value = 11.221, df_effect = 4, df_error = 50,
                          N = 55)
os_ci

effect	omega_squared	lower_limit	upper_limit	F_value	df_effect	df_error	N
overall	0.426	0.226	0.587	11.2	4	50	55

The population proportion of variance accounted for is estimated at omega squared = 0.43, with a 95% confidence interval of [0.23, 0.59]: a substantial effect whose width still admits values from roughly a quarter to three fifths of the variance, a reminder that even a clearly nonzero effect is estimated with real uncertainty at this sample size.

The same comparison, expressed as a proportion of variance, as the signal to noise ratio $f^2$, and as the square root of the signal to noise ratio (which is Cohen’s f):

ci_pvaf(F_value  = 11.221, df_1 = 4, df_2 = 50, N = 55)

term	value	prob_less	prob_greater
lower_limit	0.226	0.025	0.975
pvaf	0.473	NA	NA
upper_limit	0.587	0.975	0.025
actual_coverage	0.95	NA	NA

Confidence level: 95%

ci_snr(F_value   = 11.221, df_1 = 4, df_2 = 50, N = 55)

term	value
lower_limit	0.293
upper_limit	1.42

Confidence level: 95%

ci_srsnr(F_value = 11.221, df_1 = 4, df_2 = 50, N = 55)

term	value
lower_limit	0.541
upper_limit	1.19

Confidence level: 95%

ci_srsnr() also accepts a design-stage specification. Given the planning means, the within-group variance, and the per-group sample size, it derives the implied F internally and returns the interval on Cohen’s f that the planned design would produce. For the four-group running example:

ci_srsnr(means = mu_j, sigma_squared = sigma_squared, n_per_group = n_j)
#> Warning: The observed F_value is below the alpha_lower critical value of the
#> central F-distribution, so the lower confidence limit on the square root of the
#> signal-to-noise ratio is 0.

term	value
lower_limit	0
upper_limit	0.542

Confidence level: 95%

Carrying Uncertainty Into the Next Study

A pilot estimate is uncertain, and planning the next study around a point estimate quietly assumes that uncertainty away. A more defensible habit is to plan around a conservative bound of the effect. Take a one-sided 80 percent lower limit for f from the Bargman analysis by putting all of the Type I error in the lower tail, then plan the next five-group study to that bound:

lower_f <- ci_srsnr(F_value = 11.221, df_1 = 4, df_2 = 50, N = 55,
                    alpha_lower = .20, alpha_upper = 0)
lower_f

term	value
lower_limit	0.727
upper_limit	Inf

Confidence level: 80%

f_lower <- lower_f$value[lower_f$term == "lower_limit"]
ss_power_one_way_anova(a = 5, f = f_lower, desired_power = .80)

term	value
necessary_N	30
n_per_group	6
a	5
noncentrality	15.9
actual_power	0.842

A Second Example: Three Groups

The worked example in Maxwell, Delaney, and Kelley (2027) uses three groups with population means 400, 450, and 500, a within-group standard deviation of 100, and 10 participants per group. The same spine applies, now stated compactly with DMAR.

mu_j_2          <- c(400, 450, 500)
sigma_2         <- 100
sigma_squared_2 <- sigma_2^2
n_j_2           <- 10
a_2             <- length(mu_j_2)
N_2             <- n_j_2 * a_2

# Noncentrality from the model discrepancy, by hand
lambda_2 <- sum(n_j_2 * (mu_j_2 - mean(mu_j_2))^2) / sigma_squared_2
lambda_2
#> [1] 5

# Effect size and realized power at the planned design, from DMAR
f_2 <- cohen_f(mu = mu_j_2, sigma_squared = sigma_squared_2)$value
ss_power_one_way_anova(a = a_2, f = f_2, N = N_2, alpha_level = .05)

term	value
specified_N	30
a	3
noncentrality	5
actual_power	0.458

# Sample size needed for power .80
plan2 <- ss_power_one_way_anova(a = a_2, f = f_2, desired_power = .80, alpha_level = .05)

The realized power at 10 per group is modest. The sample size needed for power .80 is about 21 per group, the value the textbook reaches:

plan2

term	value
necessary_N	63
n_per_group	21
a	3
noncentrality	10.5
actual_power	0.815

A Planned Contrast as a Model Comparison

The omnibus test compares one mean against a means. A focused question imposes a different restriction: that a single contrast equals zero. Returning to the four-group example, suppose the substantive question is whether the average of the first three groups differs from the fourth. The full model lets the group means be free, so the contrast $\psi = \sum_j c_j \mu_j$ may be nonzero; the restricted model constrains the means so that $\psi = 0$. This is a one-degree-of-freedom comparison.

The contrast weights must satisfy three conditions, all of which DMAR’s contrast functions expect for the standardized fractional form. The weights must sum to zero, which is what makes them a contrast; and to put $\psi$ on the metric of a difference between two composite means, the positive weights must sum to 1 and the negative weights must sum to $-1$:

c_weights <- c(1/3, 1/3, 1/3, -1)
sum(c_weights)                  # all weights sum to zero
#> [1] -5.551115e-17
sum(c_weights[c_weights > 0])   # the positive weights sum to 1
#> [1] 1
sum(c_weights[c_weights < 0])   # the negative weights sum to -1
#> [1] -1

The population value of the contrast is the discrepancy the restriction would erase. The single-degree-of-freedom reduction in error is $\psi^2 / \sum_j (c_j^2 / n_j)$, and dividing by the error variance gives the noncentrality:

psi <- sum(c_weights * mu_j)
psi
#> [1] 9

reduction_contrast <- psi^2 / sum(c_weights^2 / n_j)
lambda_contrast    <- reduction_contrast / sigma_squared
lambda_contrast
#> [1] 8.4375

# Power by hand, from the noncentral F with one numerator degree of freedom
critical_F_c <- qf(1 - .05, df1 = 1, df2 = N - a)
pf(critical_F_c, df1 = 1, df2 = N - a, ncp = lambda_contrast, lower.tail = FALSE)
#> [1] 0.8180309

ss_power_contrast() returns the same power and will also solve for the sample size. One point deserves attention, because the sample size argument is not uniform across the planning family: ss_power_one_way_anova() takes the total sample size, whereas ss_power_contrast() takes the per-group size in n_per_group. Here 20 per group corresponds to a total of 80:

# Realized power at 20 per group
ss_power_contrast(c_weights = c_weights, mu = mu_j,
                  sigma_squared = sigma_squared, n_per_group = n_j)

term	value
specified_n_per_group	20
total_N	80
actual_power	0.818
noncentral_t_parm	2.9
effect_size_f	0.325

# Per-group sample size needed for power .90
ss_power_contrast(c_weights = c_weights, mu = mu_j,
                  sigma_squared = sigma_squared, desired_power = .90)

term	value
necessary_n_per_group	26
total_N	104
actual_power	0.907
noncentral_t_parm	3.31
effect_size_f	0.325

The analysis-stage counterpart estimates the contrast with a confidence interval. ci_c() forms $\hat\psi \pm t_{1-\alpha/2,\,N-a}\,\mathrm{SE}$, where the standard error is $s\sqrt{\sum_j c_j^2 / n_j}$ and s is the root mean square error (the ANOVA standard deviation, not the variance):

ci_c(means = mu_j, s_anova = sigma, c_weights = c_weights,
     n = n_j, N = N, conf_level = .95)

term	value
lower_limit	2.83
contrast	9
upper_limit	15.2

Confidence level: 95%

From fitted data, contrast_test() carries the same estimate, its standard error, the t statistic, the degrees of freedom, and a confidence interval, with optional multiple-comparison adjustments:

contrast_test(fit_aov,
              contrasts = list("avg of 1, 2, 3 vs 4" = c(1/3, 1/3, 1/3, -1)))

contrast	estimate	se	t	df	p_value	p_adjusted	ci_lower	ci_upper
avg of 1, 2, 3 vs 4	12.2	3.35	3.64	76	0.0005	0.0005	5.52	18.9

Confidence level: 95%

Beyond the Reject or Retain Decision

Power is the probability of a correct rejection, but a significant result is not the end of the story. Following Gelman and Carlin (2014), design_consequences() reports, for the planned contrast, the power together with the Type S error (the probability that a significant estimate has the wrong sign) and the Type M error (the factor by which a significant estimate exaggerates the true effect), and the expected width of the confidence interval. Feed it the population contrast and its standard error:

se_psi <- sqrt(sigma_squared * sum(c_weights^2 / n_j))
design_consequences(true_effect = psi, se = se_psi, df = N - a, alpha_level = .05)

term	value
power	0.818
type_s_error	8.4e-07
exaggeration_ratio	1.11
expected_half_width	6.15
mean_ci_width	12.3
median_ci_width	12.3
sd_ci_width	0.999
pct_ci_less_w	NA
target_width	NA
true_effect	9
se	3.1
df	76
alpha_level	0.05

Confidence level: 95%

A well-powered design has a negligible Type S error and a Type M factor near 1, meaning a significant estimate neither flips sign nor materially overstates the effect. Underpowered designs fail on both counts even when they occasionally reach significance.

Planning a Contrast for Precision

Power asks whether the test will reject; accuracy in parameter estimation (AIPE) asks how precisely the contrast will be estimated. Rather than a target power, the input is a target confidence interval width, and the planner returns the sample size that achieves it. Here the goal is an expected 95 percent interval no wider than 6 points, with 90 percent assurance that the realized interval meets that target:

ss_aipe_c(error_variance = sigma_squared, c_weights = c_weights,
          width = 6, conf_level = .95, assurance = .90)

term	value
necessary_n_per_group	91

Confidence level: 95%

Why Not base R’s power.anova.test()

The base function power.anova.test() takes between- and within-group variances, but its between.var is the sample variance of the means (with divisor $a - 1$), whereas Cohen’s f and the model comparison use the population variance of the means (with divisor a). Passing the population value understates the effect; the classic fix is to pass var(mu_j) instead. DMAR removes the hazard, because cohen_f() uses the correct divisor internally:

sigma_squared_m              # population variance of the means (divisor a)
#> [1] 17.1875
var(mu_j)                    # sample version (divisor a - 1)
#> [1] 22.91667
var(mu_j) / sigma_squared_m  # the ratio is a / (a - 1)
#> [1] 1.333333

cohen_f(mu = mu_j, sigma_squared = sigma_squared)$value
#> [1] 0.3454817
sqrt(sigma_squared_m / sigma_squared)   # identical, computed by hand
#> [1] 0.3454817

The chain cohen_f() to ss_power_one_way_anova() is therefore both correct and unambiguous, which is why this vignette never reaches for the base function.

References

Bargman, R. E. (1970). Interpretation and use of a generalized discriminant function. In R. C. Bose et al. (Eds.), Essays in probability and statistics. University of North Carolina Press.

Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Erlbaum.

Gelman, A., & Carlin, J. (2014). Beyond power calculations: Assessing Type S (sign) and Type M (magnitude) errors. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 9(6), 641–651.

Kelley, K. (2007). Confidence intervals for standardized effect sizes: Theory, application, and implementation. Journal of Statistical Software, 20(8), 1–24.

Maxwell, S. E., Delaney, H. D., & Kelley, K. (2027). Designing experiments and analyzing data: A model comparison perspective (4th ed.). Routledge. See Chapter 3 on the one-way design and the analysis of group differences, and Chapters 4 through 6 on contrasts and focused comparisons.

Steiger, J. H. (2004). Beyond the F test: Effect size confidence intervals and tests of close fit in the analysis of variance and contrast analysis. Psychological Methods, 9(2), 164–182.