Professor Golder is studying hyperactivity in preschool age children. She is concerned that differences in child rearing, diet, and so forth may affect her results. To minimize these potential preexisting variables, she should be sure to do which of the following?
A) Use random assignment when forming her groups.
B) Include an independent variable.
C) Include a dependent variable.
D) Assign boys to the experimental group and girls to the control group.
E) Include multiple confounding variables.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Using random assignment when forming her groups will help ensure that any preexisting variables are evenly distributed across the experimental and control groups. This will allow for more accurate comparisons between the groups and minimize the potential influence of confounding variables. Including an independent and dependent variable is important for any experimental design, but does not specifically address the issue of preexisting variables. Assigning boys to the experimental group and girls to the control group would be an example of biased sampling, and including multiple confounding variables would further complicate the analysis of the results.

Professor Golder Is Studying Hyperactivity in Preschool Age Children