Random assignment refers to a situation in which:
A) participants self-select into a particular condition in the study.
B) the experimenter randomly determines whether to use a single-blind or double-blind research design.
C) every person in the population has an equal chance of being selected for participation in the study.
D) every participant in the study has an equal chance of being assigned to any condition or level of the independent variable.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Random assignment refers to the process of randomly assigning participants to different conditions or levels of an independent variable. This ensures that each participant has an equal chance of being in any condition, which is important for minimizing the potential for confounding variables that might bias the results. Option A is incorrect because self-selection can introduce bias into the sample, while options B and C are also incorrect because they do not refer to the process of assigning participants to different conditions.

Random Assignment Refers to a Situation in Which