Introduction
The Levene Test is a statistical test used to assess the homogeneity of variance for a set of data. It is a non-parametric test, which means it does not make assumptions about the normal distribution of the data. The Levene test is used to compare the variances between two or more groups and is typically a better option than the standard F-test for equality of variance when the data does not follow a normal distribution. This article will discuss the purpose of Levene test, its assumptions, and the interpretation of the Levene test results.
Purpose
The Levene test is used to determine if the variances of two or more groups are equal, or if there is a significant difference between them. This test is appropriate to use when the data does not follow a normal distribution. The test is used to decide whether or not to reject the null hypothesis that the variances of the two groups are equal.
Assumptions
The Levene test assumes that the data is drawn from populations that have the same shape and spread, but that the means may differ. The test also assumes that the data is independent and identically distributed.
Interpretation
The Levene Test results are presented as a p-value. A p-value of less than 0.05 indicates that the variances are significantly different, and therefore the null hypothesis is rejected. If the p-value is greater than 0.05, then the null hypothesis is accepted, and the variances are considered to be equal.
Conclusion
The Levene Test is a statistical test used to compare the variances between two or more groups. It is a non-parametric test, which means it does not make assumptions about the normal distribution of the data. The Levene test is used to decide whether or not to reject the null hypothesis that the variances of the two groups are equal. The test results are presented as a p-value, and a p-value of less than 0.05 indicates that the variances are significantly different.
References
Crawley, M. J. (2005). Statistics: An introduction using R. John Wiley & Sons.
Girden, E. R. (1992). ANOVA: Repeated measures (Vol. 1). Sage Publications.
Guggenberger, P., & Hothorn, T. (2011). The Levene test. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Computational Statistics, 3(5), 427-434.
Kirk, R. E. (2013). Experimental design: Procedures for the behavioral sciences (4th ed.). Wadsworth Cengage Learning.