Experimental Design and Variables Flashcard

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What is a confounding variable?

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A confounding variable is an external factor that can affect the outcome of an experiment, potentially distorting the results.

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

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The control group serves as a baseline to compare the effects of the treatment group, helping to isolate the effect of the independent variable.

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What does blinding mean in experimental design?

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Blinding is a technique used to prevent bias by keeping participants or researchers unaware of which group participants belong to (treatment or control).

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What is a randomized block design?

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A randomized block design is an experimental design that divides subjects into blocks based on a certain characteristic to reduce variability and clarify differences.

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What is the placebo effect?

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The placebo effect is a phenomenon where participants experience improvements in their condition simply because they believe they are receiving treatment, even if it is inactive.

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Why is it important to control variables in an experiment?

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Controlling variables is crucial to ensure that the results are due to the independent variable and not influenced by other factors.

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What is an independent variable?

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The independent variable is the factor that is manipulated or changed in an experiment to observe its effect on the dependent variable.

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What is a dependent variable?

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The dependent variable is the outcome or response that is measured in an experiment, which is affected by changes in the independent variable.

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What is random assignment in experimental design?

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Random assignment is the process of randomly allocating participants to different groups to ensure that each group is similar and to reduce bias.

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What is the significance of sample size in an experiment?

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A larger sample size increases the reliability of the results and reduces the impact of random variation.