An airline wants to select a computer software package for its reservation system. Four software packages (1, 2, 3, and 4) are commercially available. An experiment is set up in which each package is used to make reservations for 5 randomly selected weeks and data on the number of passengers that are bumped over a month are collected. (A total of 20 weeks was included in the experiment.) The variance on the number of passengers that are bumped is found to be roughly the same for the 4 packages. Which of the following tests will be the most appropriate to find out if the average number of passengers being bumped over a month is the same across the 4 packages?
A) pooled-variance t test
B) paired t test
C) one-way ANOVA F test for differences among more than two means
D) two-way ANOVA F test for interaction effect

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The question asks if the average number of bumped passengers is the same across the four software packages, which involves comparing means. The one-way ANOVA F test is designed specifically for comparing means across multiple groups. The fact that the variances are roughly equal suggests that a pooled variance t test may be appropriate, but the one-way ANOVA is still the most appropriate choice in this scenario. The paired t test is not applicable since the packages are being compared independently. A two-way ANOVA is not necessary since there is only one factor being tested (the software package).

An Airline Wants to Select a Computer Software Package for Its