The administration of Midwest State University wants to know if the arrangement of chairs affects student participation in classrooms. What would be a good operationalization of the dependent variable in an experiment designed to measure this relationship?
A) class size: under 50 or over 50
B) number of students enrolled in each class
C) chair arrangement: theater style or circular
D) frequency with which students ask questions

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The experimental question is focused on whether the arrangement of chairs affects student participation. The dependent variable, therefore, should be related to student participation. Option A and B are related to class size, which is not directly related to student participation. Option C is related to the independent variable, but does not measure the effect on student participation. Option D, the frequency with which students ask questions, directly measures student participation and would be a good operationalization of the dependent variable.

The Administration of Midwest State University Wants to Know If