An algorithm for a letter-based representation of all-pairwise comparisons

All-pairwise comparisons among a set of t treatments or groups are one of the most frequent tasks in applied statistics. Users of statistical software are accustomed to the familiar lines display, in which treatments that do not differ significantly, are connected by a common line or letter. Availability of the lines display is restricted mainly to the balanced analysis of variance setup. This limited availability is at stark variance with the diversity of statistical methods and models, which call for multiple comparisons. This article describes a general method for graphically representing any set of t(t - 1)/2 all-pairwise significance statements (p values) for t treatments by a familiar letter display, which is applicable regardless of the underlying data structure or the statistical method used for comparisons. The method reproduces the familiar lines display in case of the balanced analysis of variance. Its broad applicability is demonstrated using data from an international multienvironment wheat yield trial and from a fish catching survey.