Mara, Constance A.Cribbie, Robert2017-05-292017-05-292017Mara, C. & Cribbie, R. A. (2018). Equivalence of population variances: Synchronizing the objective and analysis. Journal of Experimental Education, 86(3), 442-457. doi:10.1080/00220973.2017.1301356http://hdl.handle.net/10315/33151Researchers are often interested in testing for the equivalence of population variances. Traditional difference-based procedures are appropriate to answer questions about differences in some statistic (e.g., variances, etc.). However, if a researcher is interested in evaluating the equivalence of population variances, it is more appropriate to use a procedure specifically designed to determine equivalence. A simulation study was used to compare newly developed equivalence-based tests to difference-based variance homogeneity tests under common data conditions. Results demonstrated that traditional difference-based tests assess equality of variances from the wrong perspective, and that the proposed Levene-Wellek-Welch test for equivalence of group variances using the absolute deviations from the median was the best performing test for detecting equivalence. An R function is provided in order to facilitate use of this test for equivalence of population variances.enhomogeneity of variance, equivalence tests, leveneArticle