Experimental Study Quiz

What is required for a study to be considered experimental?

• Random sampling

• Random assignment

• A placebo

What is the difference between a comparison group and a control group?

• The comparison group receives no treatment

• The control group may have access to the treatment later

• The comparison group receives “treatment as usual”

• Assignment to the control group is not randomly assigned

What is the purpose of a control group?

• To demonstrate what would happen to the experimental group if treatment had not been provided

• To ensure that participants in the research are assessed for possible harm

• To control for demographic variables

Which of the following issues does the posttest-only control group design help control?

• Researcher effects and bias

• Placebo effect

• Testing effects

• Control group contamination

Random assignment is easy to perform in real-world experiments

• True

• False

Which design includes the researchers observing a group multiple times before and after an intervention?

• A natural experiment

• Time series design

• Pre-experimental design

How is the internal validity of an experiment BEST defined?

• The degree to which the results of the experiment apply to the real world

• The ability of the research conclusions to match existing theory

• The confidence the researchers have that changes in the dependent variable are because of the independent variable

What is the purpose of replication studies?

• To combine the results of multiple studies together into one analysis

• To repeat a study using the same procedures to see if they get the same result

• To contact research participants to request their participation in another study

The results found in a lab don’t always generalize well to the real world. Which concept is reflected when this occurs?

• Internal validity

• External validity

• Reliability

Which of the following is not a threat to validity?

• Noncomparable groups

• Selection bias

• Placebo effect

• Double-blind design