Experimental Design Flashcards
Independent Variable
the variable being changed in an experiment
Dependant Variable
the variable that changes because of the change of the independent variable
Control
nothing is changes (natural state)
Treatment
the independent variable was manipulated
Hypothesis
broad educated guess with
Prediction
based on an educated guess with more detail
experimental study
variables are manipulated and responses are measured
descriptive study
no hypothesis is tested (observation only)
non-experimental study
no manipulation of a variable (data is gathered to test a hypothesis
causation
changes in one variable bring about changes in another
correlation
determines a relationship between two or more variables
controlled experiments
the only kind of experiment that is used to determine the cause and effect relationship between two variables
flaws in an experimental design
no controls, lacks replication, insufficient samples size, important variables not held constant
Why is an experimental control needed to interpret results?
it allows scientists to eliminate varying amounts of uncertainty in their experiments
what is the difference between an experimental control and a constant
a constant variable does not change throughout an experiment. A control variable can change but is deliberately kept constant to isolate the interrelation between an independent variable and a dependent variable
