Which of the following is the primary goal for randomizing an extraneous variable in an experiment?
A)increase the ability to generalize the results
B)avoid selection bias
C)ensure that the variable in the sample is representative of the variable in the population
D)minimize the likelihood that the variable is confounding

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Randomizing an extraneous variable helps minimize the likelihood that the variable is confounding, meaning that it is influencing the outcome of the experiment in a way that is not accounted for by the independent variable. By randomizing the variable, it is distributed equally across groups, reducing the chance that it will affect only one group and skew the results. The other options may be goals of other research design techniques, but randomization specifically targets the reduction of confounding variables.

Which of the Following Is the Primary Goal for Randomizing