Pairwise Multiple Comparisons in the Homogeneous Variance, Unequal Sample Size Case

Abstract The effect of unequal ni on the error rates of six procedures for pair-wise multiple comparisons beteen k treatment means with homogeneous variances was studied by computer simulation. A commonly used method, attributed to Kramer (1956) but suggested also by Tukey (1953), was found to have error rates less than the nominal value α for several patterns of inequality in the sample sizes, at least when the variations in ni were moderately large. A method that substitutes the harmonic mean sample size for n in Tukey's T method had excessively high error rates. Other methods proposed more recently in the literature were conservative relative to the Tukey-Kramer method. Thus, the Tukey-Kramer method is recommended for use in the unequal sample size, homogeneous variance situation.