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Experimental Design Flashcards

7 cards from real FAST practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.

Read the first 7 Experimental Design flashcards as text

  1. A researcher wants to test whether a new fertilizer increases crop yield but cannot randomly assign plots to treatments because some plots are on hillsides. Which design best addresses this?

    Answer: Randomized block design

    A randomized block design groups plots by location type (hillside vs. flat) to control for terrain as a confounding variable.

  2. In a double-blind drug trial, which of the following best describes what 'double-blind' means?

    Answer: Neither the participants nor the researchers assessing outcomes know who received the treatment

    Double-blind means both participants and outcome assessors are unaware of group assignments to prevent bias.

  3. A study finds that cities with more ice cream sales have higher drowning rates. What is the most likely explanation?

    Answer: A third variable (hot weather) drives both

    Hot weather causes both increased ice cream consumption and increased swimming, making temperature a confounding variable.

  4. Which of the following is an example of a within-subjects experimental design?

    Answer: Having each participant complete all conditions of the experiment

    A within-subjects design has each participant experience all conditions, serving as their own control.

  5. A researcher tests five different teaching methods but only has access to five intact classrooms. What is the primary limitation of this setup?

    Answer: Students cannot be randomly assigned to classrooms, limiting causal inference

    Using intact groups rather than random assignment creates a quasi-experimental design, weakening causal conclusions due to potential pre-existing group differences.

  6. What is the purpose of including a control group in an experiment?

    Answer: To provide a baseline comparison that isolates the effect of the independent variable

    A control group establishes a baseline against which the treatment group is compared, allowing the effect of the independent variable to be isolated.

  7. An experiment uses a 2×3 factorial design. How many total conditions does this experiment have?

    Answer: 6

    A 2×3 factorial design has 2 levels of one factor and 3 levels of another, yielding 2×3 = 6 unique combinations.