question: A researcher computed the F ratio for a four-group experiment. The computed F is 4.86. The degrees of freedom are 3 for the numerator and 16 for the denominator.

1. Is the computed value of F significant at p < .05? Explain.
2. Is it significant at p < .01? Explain.

When we are trying to evaluate if the f ratio is significant at a specific p-value, researchers first need to identify if the f ratio is greater than or less than the p-value. If the f statistic is higher than the critical value, then researchers are able to identify that the difference is significant. Whereas if the f statistic is less than the critical value researchers are able to identify that the difference is not significant, (Privitera (2020).

In this, the computed f statistic is 4.86 which is greater than the p-value at .05 and a critical value of 3.2388 and shows that it is statistically significant.

However, with the p-value changing to .01 the critical value becomes 5.2922 and shows that 4.86 is less than the critical value so this test would not be statistically significant.

Privitera, G. (2020). Research methods for the behavioral sciences (3rd ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Sage. ISBN-13: 9781544309811