Why is it important to make sure that different participant groups are roughly equivalent in terms of personal characteristics (e.g., age, gender) before any independent variable is introduced?
A) Because it is important to treat all research participants equally so that they feel that they are not being manipulated.
B) Because research ethics forbid any experiment to take place when the participant groups are fundamentally different from each other.
C) So that no major differences between the groups unduly bias the results of the experiment.
D) Because this is generally what happens when participants are allowed to choose their own groups.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Ensuring that participant groups are roughly equivalent in terms of personal characteristics helps to control for any major differences between the groups that could potentially bias the results of the experiment. This is important for reducing the risk of confounding variables and ensuring the accuracy and validity of the data collected.

Why Is It Important to Make Sure That Different Participant