3.3.2 reporting and evaluating experimental design

Question 1

what should a method section contain

Answer 1

sufficient information to allow another investigator to repeat the work

Question 2

what should experimental design address

Answer 2

the intended aim and test the hypotheses

Question 3

when is an experimental design invalid

Answer 3

if it does not address the intended aim or test the hypotheses

Question 4

should the validity and reliability of experimental design be evaluated

Answer 4

yes

Question 5

what should treatment effects be compared to

Answer 5

controls

Question 6

what should be done regarding confounding variables

Answer 6

they should be taken into account or standardised across treatments

Question 7

when may the validity of an experiment be compromised

Answer 7

when factors other than the independent variable influence the value of the dependent variable

Question 8

what is selection bias

Answer 8

the selection of a sample in a non random way, so that the sample is not representative of the whole population

Question 9

what does selection bias prevent

Answer 9

a representative sample being selected

Question 10

sample size may not be sufficient to…

Answer 10

decide without bias whether the change to the independent variable has caused an effect in the dependent variable