ANOVA, or Analysis of Variance, is a statistical method used to compare the means of three or more groups to determine if at least one group mean is significantly different from the others. It helps researchers understand if variations in data are due to actual differences between groups or just random chance. ANOVA is commonly used in experiments where multiple treatments or conditions are tested. The basic idea behind ANOVA is to analyze the variance within each group and between the groups. By calculating the F-statistic, which is the ratio of variance between groups to variance within groups, researchers can assess whether the differences observed are statistically significant. This technique is widely applied in fields such as psychology, biology, and economics.