One-factor-at-a-time method

The one-factor-at-a-time method is a method of designing experiments involving the testing of factors, or causes, one at a time instead of all simultaneously. Sir Ronald A. Fisher showed that the effects of factors can be more efficiently estimated (i.e. with a smaller sample size for the same accuracy) if they are all measured simultaneously. Furthermore, the effects of interactions between factors can only be explored and estimated when factors are measured simultaneously.

External Link

 * Czitrom (1999) "One-Factor-at-a-Time Versus Designed Experiments", American Statistician, 53, 2.