Selection of significant factors according to the results of psychological experiment on the example of studying the grinding process of leaf and stem mass

The purpose of the work is to develop a scientific approach to the selection of the main (significant) factors characterizing the process under study in the absence of a theoretical description of the “physics” of the process under consideration or in the absence of a complete understanding of the number and degree of influence of the proposed factors on it, expressed in the form of functionality. The approach is based on using a psychological experiment (method of expert assessments). As a result of analyzing the application of the mathematical theory of planning a multifactorial experiment, it has been established that the number of main factors when studying many processes after expert assessment by specialists is usually determined a priori, which can lead to errors and failure to take into account a number of important parameters and modes of the subject area under study. To solve the problem, we used the structuring of a statistical set of identifiers (factors), and obtained a diagram of the integral function of the accumulated frequencies of the value of the ranked assessment of each factor in their totality, which reflects the increase in changes in factors with an increase in their number. Using a twostage procedure in comparison with the hypothetical (average) rate of formation of a statistical set of ranked assessment of factors, this made it possible to distinguish 27 factors, using the example of published data from a psychological experiment when studying their influence on the energy intensity of the process of grinding leaf and stem mass, into three zones: significant (main), minor and insignificant factors. In quantitative terms, this series was respectively 13, 6, and 7. While the original source presents the number of main factors equal to a priori 9, but ultimately remained 8. The results of the work can be diversified when conducting research in any field of knowledge, where elements of the mathematical theory of planning a multifactorial experiment are used to one degree or another.