Experimental Design Questions

Question 1

State the 10 things needed to create an experimental design

Answer 1

1. Hypothesis and prediction
2. Control
3. IV and DV
4. How IV and DV are manipulated/measured
5. Hold other variables constant
6. Replicates (sample size)
7. Experiment to be repeated
8. Awareness that one can never prove a hypothesis
9. Ethics
10. Confounding effects/bias

Question 2

Create an experimental design to test the claim that Ginkgo Biloba supplements improve memory

Answer 2

1. Hypothesis: if individuals take the Ginkgo biloba supplements over a span of 3-4 months then they will show improved memory performance.
   Prediction: individuals taking the supplements will perform better on the memory tests given than those taking a placebo after 3-4 months
2. Control(s): The group receiving a placebo with the nonactive supplement will be compared to the non placebo group. Conduct the experiment in the same environment for both groups
3. IV: The supplements (placebo vs GB)
   DV: Memory performance on the tests based off of questions and skills that require the use of memory
4. Use random assignment to place participants in either the GB or control group and administer memory tests before and after taking the supplements. The tests will be scored to show the performance of each individual before and after
5. Hold variables such as age as constant as possible and the lifestyles such as sleep and diet of the participants should be closely matched with each other. Use the same testing condition for all participants
6. Aim for a large sample size of 100 participants so 50 in each group. This would help get more accurate and reliable data because of the large sample size
7. Repeat the experiment with different age groups (teens, adults) to gain a deeper understanding about the supplements
8. The hypothesis above can never be proven so more study and experiments should be done to further support the hypothesis
9. Inform the participants about risks, purpose, procedure of the supplements and make sure the experiment is approved by the ethics board and constantly monitor the participants taking GB
10. Other factors that could occur could be education background, poor lifestyle choices and stress levels that all affect memory
    Bias reduction: double blind study to increase the validity of a study by helping minimize Experimenter and participant bias