FACTORIAL EXPERIMENTS

Two-Factor Factorial Experiments

Dr. Yousaf Hayat

Professor
Department of Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science

01/25/24 Dr. Yousaf Hayat 1

 FACTORS
 A set of related treatment combination is called factor. OR, The term factor
refers to a set of related treatments.
For example, we may apply different doses of nitrogen to a crop. Here Nitrogen acts
as a factor while the different doses are called the levels. Other factors can be:
 Crop varieties
 dates of sowing
 types of irrigation
 seed rate etc are called the factors
To be noted that the experimental designs (CRD, RCBD and LS design)
explained earlier are called single factor design. These design can be
extended to study the effect of more than one factors involved in the
experiment.
01/25/24 Dr. Yousaf Hayat 2
FACTORIAL EXPERIMENTS

 To be noted that the experimental designs (CRD, RCBD and LS

design) explained earlier are called single factor designs. These design

can be extended to study the effect of more than one factors involved

in the experiment.

 An experiment in which not only the individual effects of the factors

are studied but their interactions are also investigated is known as

factorial experiment.

01/25/24 Dr. Yousaf Hayat 3

FACTORIAL EXPERIMENTS
 When all possible combinations of the factor levels are tested once,
the experiment is called a complete or full factorial or a single
replicate. If each combination is tested several times, the experiment is
called a multiple replicate. If not all combinations of factor levels are
tested, the experiment is called a fractional factorial experiment or
incomplete factorial experiment.
 A factorial experiment in which all factors occur with the same
number of levels is called symmetric factorial experiment, for
example 2x2, 3x3 etc, otherwise it is called an asymmetrical factorial
experiment, for example 2x3, 3x4 etc.
01/25/24 Dr. Yousaf Hayat 4
INTERACTION
 Sometimes the factors act independently of each other. It means that by
changing the level of one factor produces the same effect at levels of
another factor. In such a case the factors acts independently and there is
said to be no interaction b/w the factors.

 On the other hand, if the effect of one factor changes as the level of the
other factor changes, the factors are said to be dependent and there will be
an interaction between/among them. So, the term interaction can also
define as: “ The dependence of factors in their responses is known as
interaction”.
01/25/24 Dr. Yousaf Hayat 5
Examples
Consider the yield of two wheat varieties at four different levels of nitrogen
fertilizer

V1 V1
V1

Yield V2 V2
V2

20 40 60 80 20 40 60 80 20 40 60 80
No interaction Non-crossover Crossover
Interactions Interactions
The yield of V1 and V2 is
same at all the four Yield of varieties Yield of V1 and V2
levels of nitrogen depends depends on fertilizer
fertilizer on fertilizer level level

01/25/24 Dr. Yousaf Hayat 6

Examples

Consider an example of two factors each having two levels i.e. two levels of
phosphorous and two levels of potassium on the yield of a particular crop
variety

No interaction Positive interaction Negative interaction

P0 P1 Mean P0 P1 Mean P0 P1 Mean

K0 10 18 14 K0 10 18 14 K0 10 18 14
K1 14 22 18 K1 12 26 19 K1 16 14 15
Mean 12 20 Mean 11 22 Mean 13 16

(22-14)-(18-10) = 0 (26-12)-(18-10) = +6 (14-16)-(18-10) = -10

01/25/24 Dr. Yousaf Hayat 7

Analysis of 2-Factors Factorial Experiment

 Analysis of any factorial experiment can be performed by

using any of the three basic experimental designs i.e.

o CRD

o RCBD

o Latin Square Design

Note: Only CRD and RCBD will be discussed for 2-factors

factorial experiments.

01/25/24 Dr. Yousaf Hayat 8

2-Factors Factorial Experiment: CRD

 Statistical Model for 2-factors factorial experiment conducted in CRD:

Let the two factors are denoted by “A” and “B”.
yijk =  + i + j + ()ij + ijk
  = mean effect
 i = effect of ith level of factor A

 j = effect of jth level of factor B

 ()ij = Interaction between the ith level of factor A and jth level of
factor B
 ijk = random error
01/25/24 Dr. Yousaf Hayat 9
Sum of Squares

CF = (GT)2/rab

SSTotal = 2ijk – CF

SSA = 1/rb Y2i. – CF

SSB = 1/ra Y2.j – CF

SSAB = 1/r Y2ij – CF – SSA – SSB

SSE = SSTotal – SSA –SSB –SSAB

01/25/24 Dr. Yousaf Hayat 10
ANOVA For 2-Factors Factorial Experiment: CRD
 Let us consider that the factor A and B has “a” and “b” levels
respectively, and the experiment is conducted in CRD with “r”
replicates. Then the ANOVA for such an experiment will be:

SOV df SS MS F-ratio P-value

Factor A (a-1) SSA MSA Fa = MSA/MSE

Factor B (b-1) SSB MSB Fb = MSB/MSE

AxB (a-1)(b-1) SSAB MSAB Fab = MSAB/MSE

Error ab(r-1) SSE MSE

Total rab-1 SSTotal

01/25/24 Dr. Yousaf Hayat 11
Results Interpretation
 After analyzing the data, interpretation of results depends on the
significance of F-ratio for interaction effects. If the 2-factor (AB)
interaction is significant then
 Both the factors are dependent and the results of no one factor can be
described independently
 Make a 2-way Table of means (of both the two factors) and describe
their significance
 If the 2-factor (AB) interaction is non-significant but any of the main effect
is significant, then summarize all the means of main effects (1-way Table
of factor means) and describe the significant main effects.
01/25/24 Dr. Yousaf Hayat 12
Numerical Example
 To study the effect of three row R1 R2 R3
Treatments
spacing and 2 phosphate levels on
the yield of bush beans, in CRD
with three replicates S1 P1 65 58 55
 3 spacings: 45 cm, 90 cm, 135
cm (S1, S2, S3) S1 P2 56 45 43
 2 phosphate levels: 0 and 25
kg/ha (P1 and P2) S2 P1 60 59 54

In Such a case there will be 3x2 = 6 S2 P2 62 50 45

treatment combinations which are:
(S1P1, S1P2, S2P1, S2P2, S3P1, S3P2) S3 P1 59 55 51

S3 P2 66 57 50
01/25/24 Dr. Yousaf Hayat 13
Data Entry Format for Analysis
Spacing Phosphate Yield

1 1 65

1 2 56

2 1 60

2 2 62

3 1 59

3 2 66

1 1 58

1 2 45

2 1 59

2 2 50

3 1 55

3 2 57

1 1 55

1 2 43

2 1 54

2 2 45

3 1 51

3 2 50
 ANOVA TABLE

SOV df SS MS F-ratio P-value

Spacing 2 21.33 10.67 0.264 0.772

Phosphorus 1 98.00 98.00 2.426 0.145

SXP 2 148.00 74.00 1.832 0.202

Error 12 484.67 40.39

Total 17 752.00
Grand Mean = 55.00 and CV = 11.55%
01/25/24 Dr. Yousaf Hayat 15
Table of Means

Phosphorus

Spacing P1 P2 Mean

S1 59.33 48.00 53.67

S2 57.67 52.33 55.00

S3 55.00 57.67 56.33

Mean 57.33 52.67

01/25/24 Dr. Yousaf Hayat 16

Report of Analysis
 All the F-test (for spacing, phosphorus and S x P interaction) are non-
significant.
 There is no interaction between spacing and phosphorus levels. It
suggests that both the factors act independently.
 Since F-test for spacing is non-significant, it is therefore concluded that
on the average spacing will not affect the yield.
 The non-significant F-test for phosphorus levels indicates that it will not
significantly affect the yield.

01/25/24 Dr. Yousaf Hayat 17

2-Factors Factorial Experiment: RCBD

 Statistical Model for 2-factors factorial experiment conducted in

RCBD: Let the two factors are denoted by “A” and “B”.
yijk =  + i + j + k + ()jk + ijk
  = mean effect
 I = effect of ith block
 j = effect of jth level of factor A
 k = effect of kth level of factor B
 ()jk = Interaction between the jth level of factor A and kth
level of factor B
01/25/24
 ijk = random error Dr. Yousaf Hayat 18
Layout of the Design
 To study the effect of three row
spacing and phosphate on the yield of
Blocks
bush beans, in RCBD in three Blocks
R1 R2 R3
 3 spacings: 45 cm, 90 cm, 135
cm (S1, S2, S3) S2 P2 S1 P2 S2 P1
 2 phosphate levels: 0 and 25
kg/ha (P1 and P2) S1 P1 S3 P2 S2 P2
In Such a case there will be 3x2 = 6
treatment combinations which are: (S1P1, S3 P1 S1 P1 S1 P2
S1P2, S2P1, S2P2, S3P1, S3P2)
S1 P2 S2 P1 S3 P1
Separate randomization procedure will be
used for each block. Each treatment S3 P2 S2 P2 S1 P1
combination will occur once in each
blcok. S2 P1 S3 P1 S3 P2
01/25/24 Dr. Yousaf Hayat 19
Sum of Squares
 Let us consider that the factor A and B has “a” and “b” levels respectively, and the
experiment is conducted in RCBD with “r” blocks. Then various sum of squares
involved in the ANOVA are computed throw the following formulae:

CF = (GT)2/rab
SSTotal = 2ijk – CF

SSR = SSBlock = 1/ab Y2i. – CF

SSA = 1/rb Y2j. – CF

SSB = 1/ra Y2.k – CF

SSAB = 1/r Y2ij – CF – SSA – SSB

01/25/24 Dr. Yousaf Hayat 20
SSE = SSTotal – SSR – SSA –SSB –SSAB
ANOVA For 2-Factors Factorial Experiment: RCBD

SOV df SS MS F-ratio P-value

Block (r-1) SSR MSR Fr = MSR/MSE

Factor A (a-1) SSA MSA Fa = MSA/MSE

Factor B (b-1) SSB MSB Fb = MSB/MSE

AxB (a-1)(b-1) SSAB MSAB Fab = MSAB/MSE

(r-1)(ab-
Error 1) SSE MSE

Total rab-1 SSTotal

01/25/24 Dr. Yousaf Hayat 21

Numerical Example
 To study the effect of three row
Blocks
spacing and phosphate on the yield
of bush beans, in RCBD in three R1 R2 R3
Treatments
Blocks
 3 spacings: 45 cm, 90 cm, 135 S1P1 65 58 55
cm (S1, S2, S3)
 2 phosphate levels: 0 and 25 S1P2 56 45 43
kg/ha (P1 and P2)
S2P1 60 59 54
In Such a case there will be 3x2 =
6 treatment combinations which S2P2 62 50 45
are:
S3P1 59 55 51
(S1P1, S1P2, S2P1, S2P2, S3P1, S3P2)
S3P2 66 57 50
01/25/24 Dr. Yousaf Hayat 22
 ANOVA TABLE

SOV df SS MS F-ratio P-value

Block 2 417.333 208.667 30.99 0.000

Spacing 2 21.33 10.67 1.58 0.2526

Phosphorus 1 98.00 98.00 14.55 0.0034

SXP 2 148.00 74.00 10.99 0.0030

Error 10 67.333 6.733

Total 17 752.00

Grand Mean = 55.00 and CV = 4.72%

01/25/24 Dr. Yousaf Hayat 23
Table of Means

Phosphorus

Spacing P1 P2 Mean

S1 59.33 a 48.00 c 53.67 a

S2 57.67 a 52.33 bc 55.00 a

S3 55.00 ab 57.67 a 56.33 a

Mean 57.33 a 52.67 b 55.00

01/25/24 Dr. Yousaf Hayat 24
Report of Analysis
 Since the F-test for interaction between spacing and phosphorus levels (S x P
interaction) is significant (P < 0.05), so it is concluded that these two factors are
not act as independent i.e. both the factors are dependent to each other.
Spacing
Phosphorus 45 cm (S1) 90 cm (S2) 135 cm (S3)
No phosphorus (P1) 59.33 57.67 55.00
25 kg/ha (P2) 48.00 52.33 57.67

 Yield response depends on whether or not phosphate was supplied.

 If no phosphate - yield decreases as spacing increases.
 If phosphate is added - yield increases as spacing increases.
 F-test for blocks is also significant which suggests that blocking is effective in minimizing the
experimental error OR it controls the source of variation in the experimental units
01/25/24 Dr. Yousaf Hayat 25
Advantages
 Study the relationship between or among a number of factors in term of their
statistical significance.
 If the F-test is significant for interaction effect, then main effects are of no
importance and the results can not be described in terms of the main effects.
 In case of non-significant F-test for interaction effect, the results can be
described in terms of the main effects.
 The effect of some other factors can be considered as replication of the main
effects.
 Recommendation can be made over a wide range of condition regarding the
factors under study.

01/25/24 Dr. Yousaf Hayat 26

 Block S P Yield PH Tillers
1 1 1 65 15 9
1 2 1 60 12 8
1 3 1 59 11 7
1 1 2 56 9 5
1 2 2 62 13 8
1 3 2 66 16 9
2 1 1 58 11 7
2 2 1 59 12 9
2 3 1 55 9 6
2 1 2 45 7 5
2 2 2 50 8 5
2 3 2 57 9 6
3 1 1 55 9 6
3 2 1 54 10 8
3 3 1 51 6 4
3 1 2 43 5 4
3 2 2 45 4 3
3 3 2 50 10 7
01/25/24 Dr. Yousaf Hayat 27
 ANOVA FOR YIELD AND pH
Analysis of Variance Table for Yield

Source DF SS MS F P
Block 2 417.333 208.667
S 2 21.333 10.667 1.58 0.2526
P 1 98.000 98.000 14.55 0.0034
S*P 2 148.000 74.000 10.99 0.0030
Error 10 67.333 6.733
Total 17 752.000

Grand Mean = 55.000 CV 4.72

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Analysis of Variance Table for PH
Source DF SS MS F P
Block 2 87.111 43.5556
S 2 2.111 1.0556 0.44 0.6585
P 1 10.889 10.8889 4.50 0.0600
S*P 2 48.778 24.3889 10.07 0.0040
Error 10 24.222 2.4222
Total 17 173.111

Grand
01/25/24 Mean = 9.7778 CV 15.92 Dr. Yousaf Hayat 28
ANOVA FOR TILLERS

Analysis of Variance Table for Tillers

Source DF SS MS F P
Block 2 16.4444 8.2222
S 2 2.1111 1.0556 0.91 0.4322
P 1 8.0000 8.0000 6.92 0.0251
S*P 2 20.3333 10.1667 8.80 0.0062
Error 10 11.5556 1.1556
Total 17 58.4444

Grand Mean = 6.4444 CV = 16.68%

01/25/24 Dr. Yousaf Hayat 29

 3- FACTORS FACTORIAL EXPERIMENTS

01/25/24 Dr. Yousaf Hayat 30

3-Factors Factorial Experiment: RCBD
 Statistical Model for 3-factors factorial experiment conducted in RCBD: Let the three
factors are denoted by “A”, “B” and “C”.
Yijkl =  + i + Aj + Bk + (AB)jk + Cl + (AC)jl + (BC)kl + (ABC)jkl + ijkl
  = mean effect; i = effect of ith block
 Aj = effect of jth level of factor A
 Bk = effect of kth level of factor B
 (AB)jk = Interaction between the jth level of factor A and kth level of factor B
 Cl = effect of lth level of factor C
 (AC)jl and (BC)kl = interaction between A and C, and B and C, respectively.
 (ABC)jkl = interaction among A, B and C. It is also called the second order
interaction.
 ijkl = random error
01/25/24
Note: the interaction (AB), (AC) andDr. Yousaf Hayat
(BC) are also called first order interaction 31
Studying What?

 Three factors (studying the effect of three factors)

 In case of three factors factorial experiments we are studying:

 3 Main effects (say the effect of factors A, B and C)

 3 two-factors interaction (say AB, AC and BC). Two factor interaction is

also called first order interaction.

 1 three-factor interaction (i.e. ABC) which is also called 2 nd order

interaction.

01/25/24 Dr. Yousaf Hayat 32

Outline of ANOVA for 3-factors Factorial
Exp.
SOV df SS MS F-ratio P-value
Block (r-1) SSR MSR MSR/MSE
A (a-1) SSA MSA MSA/MSE
B (b-1) SSB MSB MSB/MSE
AB (a-1)(b-1) SS AB MS AB MSAB/MSE
C (c-1) SSC MSC MSC/MSE
AC (a-1)(c-1) SS AC MS AC MSAC/MSE
BC (b-1)(c-1) SS BC MS BC MSBC/MSE
ABC (a-1)(b-1)(c-1) SS ABC MS ABC MSABC/MSE
Error (r-1)(abc-1) SSE MSE
Total (rabc-1) SSTotal
01/25/24 Dr. Yousaf Hayat 33
Results Interpretation
 After analyzing the data, interpretation of results depends on the significance of F-
ratio for interaction effects. If the 3-factor (ABC) interaction is significant then
 All the factors are dependent and the results of no one factor can be described
independently
 Make a 3-way Table of means (of all the three factors) and describe their
significance
 If the 3-factor (ABC) interaction is non-significant but any of the interaction (AB,
AC and BC), so called 1st order interaction, is significant then no main effect is
independent of other factors. In such a case, make a 2-way Table of means and
describe the significant interaction effects.
 If no interaction (either 1st order and 2nd order) is significant, then summarize all the
means of main effects (1-way Table of factor means) and describe the significant
main effects.
01/25/24 Dr. Yousaf Hayat 34
Numerical Example
 A researcher is interested to study the effect of three factors on the production/yield of wheat
varieties by using RCBD with three blocks. The information about the factors and their
levels are:
 There are two varieties (V1 and V2) of wheat (denoted as factor V)
 Three Phosphorus Fertilization (None, 25 kg/ha, 50 kg/ha), denoted as factor P; where
the levels are presented as P1, P2 and P3 respectively
 Two levels of Weed Control (None, Herbicide), denoted as factor W; where the levels
are presented as W1 and W2 respectively.
Note: In this experiment there will be 2 x 3 x 2 = 12 treatment combinations in one block
which are:
(V1P1, V1P2, V1P3, V2P1, V2P2, V2P3) x (W1, W2)

= (V1P1W1, V1P2W1, V1P3W1, V2P1W1, V2P2W1, V2P3W1, V1P1W2, V1P2W2,

V1P3W2, V2P1W2, V2P2W2, V2P3W2
01/25/24 Dr. Yousaf Hayat 35
Field Layout and Hypothetical Data
Treatments R1 R2 R3
V1P1W1 14 15 17
V1P2W1 17 19 22
V1P3W1 22 25 26
V2P1W1 10 12 14
V2P2W1 12 15 17
V2P3W1 15 17 20
V1P1W2 16 18 20
V1P2W2 19 22 25
V1P3W2 25 28 29
V2P1W2 13 15 16
V2P2W2 15 16 20
01/25/24 V2P3W2 19 Dr. Yousaf Hayat 20 22 36
Outline of ANOVA
Source DF SS MS F P
Block 2 108.389 54.194 133.155 0.000
Variety (V) 1 230.028 230.028 565.780 0.000
Phos (P) 2 324.056 162.028 398.530 0.000
Weeds (W) 1 66.694 66.694 164.040 0.000
Variety*Phos 2 20.389 10.194 25.070 0.000
Variety*Weeds 1 0.028 0.028 0.070 0.796
Phos*Weeds 2 0.389 0.194 0.480 0.626
Variety*Phos*Weeds 2 0.056 0.028 0.070 0.934
Error 22 8.944 0.407
Total 35 758.972
Grand Mean = 18.528, CV = 3.44%
01/25/24 Dr. Yousaf Hayat 37
Results Interpretation
The F-test for higher order (3-factors) interaction is non-significant but found significant
for interaction between variety and phosphorus. In such a case, make a 2-way Table
of means and describe the significant interaction effects. The results indicate that as
the phosphorus levels increases, the yield of both the varieties also increases. It
suggests that there exist direct relationship between the varieties yield and the
selected fixed levels of phosphorus.

V x P Means
Phosphorus Levels
Variety P1 P2 P3
V1 16.667 d 20.667 b 25.833 a
V2 13.333 f 15.833 e 18.833 c
01/25/24 Dr. Yousaf Hayat 38
 Block Variety Phos Weeds Yield

1 1 1 1 14

1 1 2 1 17

1 1 3 1 22

1 2 1 1 10

1 2 2 1 12

1 2 3 1 15

1 1 1 2 16

1 1 2 2 19

1 1 3 2 25

1 2 1 2 13

1 2 2 2 15

1 2 3 2 19

2 1 1 1 15

2 1 2 1 19

2 1 3 1 25

2 2 1 1 12

2 2 2 1 15

2 2 3 1 17

2 1 1 2 18

2 1 2 2 22

2 1 3 2 28

2 2 1 2 15

2 2 2 2 16

2 2 3 2 20

3 1 1 1 17

3 1 2 1 22

3 1 3 1 26

3 2 1 1 14

3 2 2 1 17

3 2 3 1 20

3 1 1 2 20

3 1 2 2 25

3 1 3 2 29
01/25/24 Dr. Yousaf Hayat 39
3 2 1 2 16

3 2 2 2 20
 DISCUSSION

01/25/24 Dr. Yousaf Hayat 40