A nuisance factor is a factor that probably has some

effect on the response, but its of no interest to the

experimenterhowever, the variability it transmits to
the response needs to be minimized
If the nuisance variable is known and controllable,
we use blocking
If the nuisance factor is known and uncontrollable,
sometimes we can use the analysis of covariance to
remove the effect of the nuisance factor from the
analysis
If the nuisance factor is unknown and
uncontrollable, use randomization to balance out its
impact across the experiment
1

The Blocking Principle

Blocking is a technique to systematically eliminate
the effect of nuisance factors
Failure to block is a common flaw in designing an
experiment (consequences?)
The randomized complete block design or the RCBD
one nuisance variable
Extension of the ANOVA to the RCBD
Several sources of variability can be combined in a
block, to form an aggregate variable

The Latin Square Design

Text reference, Section 4-2, pg. 136
These designs are used to simultaneously control (or
eliminate) two sources of nuisance variability
A significant assumption is that the three factors
(treatments, nuisance factors) do not interact
If this assumption is violated, the Latin square design
will not produce valid results
Latin squares are not used as much as the RCBD in
industrial experimentation

The Rocket Propellant Problem A

Latin Square Design

Five different formulations of a rocket propellant

Five different materials, and five operators
Two nuisance factors
This is a 5x5 Latin square design

Examples of Latin squares

A B D C
B C A D
C D B A
D A C B

4X4

A D B

E C

D A C

B E

C B E

D A

B E A

C D

E C D

A B

5X5

Examples of standard Latin squares

A B C D

A B C

D E

B C D A

B A E

C D

C D A B

C D A

E B

D A B C

D E B

A C

E C D

B A

4
576

56
161,280

First row and column

consist of the letters
written in alphabetical
order

# of standard Latin squares

Total # of Latin squares
5

Statistical Analysis of the

Latin Square Design
The statistical (effects) model is
i 1, 2,..., p

yijk i j k ijk j 1, 2,..., p

k 1, 2,..., p

The statistical analysis (ANOVA) is much like the

analysis for the RCBD
SST = SSRows + SSColumns + SSTreatments + SSE
Respective degrees of freedom
p2 1 = p-1 + p-1 + p-1 + (p-2)(p-1)
6

 Mean squares, Fo = MSTreatments/MSE

Fo is compared with Fp-1,(p-2)(p-1) for testing the null
hypothesis of equal treatments
The effects of rows and columns can also be tested
using the ratios of MSRows and MSColumns to MSE, but
may be inappropriate

Example: The Rocket Propellant Problem

Coding (by subtracting 25 from each observation)

 There is a significant difference in the means of

formulations
There is also an indication that there are differences
between operators
There is no strong evidence of a difference between
batches of raw materials
Model adequacy can be checked by plotting residuals
9

 The observations in a Latin square should be taken in

random order
Select a Latin square from a table
Arrange the order of the rows, columns, and letters
at random
The Latin square design assumes that there is no
interaction between the factors
Small Latin squares provide a relatively small number
of error degrees of freedom (p-2)(p-1), therefore,
replication is often needed to increase error DOF.
The analysis of variance depends on the method of
replication
10

The Latin square is replicated n times

Case 1: same levels of the row and column blocking
factors are used in each replicate (repeat the square).
Total number of observations: N = np2. ANOVA:
Table 4-13
Case 2: same row (column) but different columns
(rows) are used in each replicate (fix the level of the
row factor, and change the level of the column
factor). N = np2. ANOVA: Table 4-14
Case 3: different rows and columns are used in each
replicate. N = np2. ANOVA: Table 4-15
11

DATA PREPARATION
Identifying Outliers
Calculating standardized residuals.
Values outside 95% of confidence interval are regarded
as outliers.
These outliers should be taken away so the model is not
affected.
d ij

LoadRate
(A)
1

ButtonDia.
(B)
-1

HoldTime
(C)
1

eij
MS E

PeakLoad

Residual

Std. Residual

4.97

-6.4594

-4.54

Note: this example is taken from the peak load

observations of Material 01.

12

 Filling Missing Points

The missing observation x is estimated by
minimizing its contribution to the error sum of
squares.
If there are several missing points, the
equation is iteratively used to estimate the
missing values, until convergence is obtained.
1
1
1
SS E x 2 ( yi'. x) 2 ( y.' j x) 2 ( y..' x) 2 R
b
a
ab
x

ayi'. by.' j y..'

( a 1)(b 1)

13

 Filling Multiple Missing Points

If several observations are missing, they may be estimated by
writing the error sum of squares as a function of the missing
values, differentiating with respect to each missing value,
equating the results to zero, and solving the resulting equations.
Alternatively, the equation can be iterated to estimate the missing
values. Suppose that two values are missing. Arbitrarily choose
the first missing value, and then the equation is used with this
assumed value along with the real data for estimating the second.
The equation is then used to re-estimate the first missing value
using the real observations and the estimated second value.
Following this, the second is re-estimated. This process is
continued until convergence is obtained. In any missing value
problem, the error degrees of freedom are reduced by one for each
missing observation.
14