Observational vs Experiment

You want to see if students who have a 4.0 grade point average study more than those who do not.

• experiment

• observational study

You want to compare the health of students who walk to school to the health of students who ride the bus

• experiment

• observational study

To test the effects of breakfast on grades I ask my students if they ate breakfast and then compare the breakfast eaters grades to the non-breakfast eaters. This is an example of:

• Observational study

• Experiment

Researchers wanted to know if there is a link between proximity to high-tension wires and the rate of leukemia in children. To conduct the study, researchers compared the rate of leukemia for children who lived within 1/2 mile of high-tension wires to the rate of leukemia for children who did not live within 1/2 mile of high-tension wires.

• Observational Study

• Experiment

Individuals are observed and variables are measured without controlling the individuals or the environment

• population

• observational study

• experiment

• secondary data

Individuals are monitored for measures of variables of interest but not influenced in response.

• Observational Study

• Experiment

• Voluntary Response

• Single-Blind

In an ________________, a researcher observes and measures characteristics of interest of part of the population but does not change existing conditions.

• Experiment

• Observational Study

Researchers are investigating if girls type faster than boys. They record how long it takes for a SRS of 20 boys and 20 girls to type 500 words and compare the averages.

• Survey

• Observational Study

• Experiment

A teacher looks at his students tests to see which topics his students are still struggling with.

• Survey

• Observational Study

• Experiment

A school wants to know what percent of their students ride the bus home. The bus drivers as asked to count the number of students they drive one day.

• Survey

• Observational Study

• Experiment