Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2013 / iii / Paper 30 / 2

Write $m_i=\mu +{\alpha }_i$. Apart from a constant, the log-likelihood isFor each group,Thus maximum likelihood estimation sets ${\hat{m}}_i={\overline{Y}}_i$. The corner-point constraint ${\alpha }_1=0$ identifies $m_1=\mu$, givingThe baseline mean is the first group mean, rather than the grand mean, because of the chosen identifiability constraint.

Group means are independent random variables with normal distributionsThe resulting univariate sampling distributions areThe same variance calculation holds for every $i\ge 2$, since the difference involves two independent group means. Therefore the standard errors satisfyReplacing $\sigma$ by a common estimated error standard deviation preserves this ratio. Although the individual group means are independent, the contrasts ${\hat{\alpha }}_i$ share the baseline mean and have covariance ${\sigma }^2/J$ for distinct $i\ge 2$.

Index chocolate by $a\in \{A,B,C,D\}$, day by $d$ in the three observed categories, and replicate by $r\in \{1,2\}$. The additive two-factor normal linear model isHere $Y_{adr}$ is the board count, $\mu$ is the mean for the reference chocolate and reference day, and ${\alpha }_a,{\gamma }_d$ are chocolate and day fixed effects. With corner-point constraints, set ${\alpha }_A=0$ and ${\gamma }_{d_0}=0$, where $d_0$ is the first level in the day factor. The printed coefficient-free output does not determine that factor ordering; the model is unchanged by a different reference category. There is no chocolate–day interaction term in this fit. The six free mean statistical parameters consist of one baseline, three chocolate contrasts and two day contrasts; the common error variance supplies a further statistical parameter.

Test $H_0:{\gamma }_d=0$ for both nonreference days, against at least one nonzero day fixed effect, conditional on chocolate. There are two added regression coefficients and $24-6=18$ residual statistical degrees of freedom. The nested-model F-test statistic isUnder $H_0$ and the normal linear model assumptions, $F\sim F_{2,18}$. Its 5% upper critical value is $3.555$, so do not reject the absence of day effects; the p-value is approximately $0.456$. Thus the missing row has two statistical degrees of freedom, mean square $4.875$, and the F-test value above. These observations do not provide evidence that including day improves the chocolate-adjusted mean model. They do not prove that every possible day effect or chocolate–day interaction term is absent.

The analysis of variance provides evidence of a chocolate effect both with day included ($F_{3,18}=3.9665$, p-value $0.02473$) and with day omitted ($F_{3,20}=4.039$, p-value $0.02133$). Because every chocolate–day cell has the same replication, balanced factorial orthogonality separates the two main effects; the chocolate row is meaningful despite being entered first.

The chocolate-only fitted group means are approximately $14.17,11.67,9.33,11.33$ boards for A, B, C, D respectively. Thus A has the largest fitted lecturing speed and C the smallest. Relative to A, the fitted differences are $-2.50,-4.83,-2.83$ boards. The printed individual Student t-tests give strong evidence for the A–C contrast (p-value $0.00245$); B and D versus A have p-values $0.08835$ and $0.05582$, respectively. Those latter contrasts are not significant at 5%, and the output does not test all other pairwise comparisons. Simultaneous claims would require accounting for multiple hypothesis testing.

There is little evidence of a day effect after adjusting for chocolate. A chocolate-only normal linear model is therefore a reasonable simpler summary, with residual standard deviation about $2.42$ boards and explained variation $R^2\simeq 0.377$. This is an association under the additive statistical model; a causal claim would additionally require an appropriate assignment of chocolate and checks of the regression residuals and possible interaction terms.