Final answer:
To determine if factors influence each other, a researcher would utilize Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), particularly when comparing the means of three or more populations.
Step-by-step explanation:
In order to determine whether factors influence or interact with each other, a researcher must use Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). This statistical method compares the means of three or more populations to test whether they are equal. When a researcher is interested in understanding if there is a statistically significant difference among several group means, they employ one-way ANOVA. This requires certain assumptions, such as normality of the populations, equal variances, and random and independent sampling. ANOVA makes use of the F distribution and compares within-group variation to the variation of the mean of each group to produce an F statistic.