Experimental Design Flashcards
7 cards from real FAST practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Experimental Design flashcards as text
A pharmaceutical company tests a new medication using only male participants aged 20–30. Which validity concern does this raise most directly?
Answer: External validity due to limited generalizability
Using a narrow demographic restricts generalizability to other ages and sexes, undermining external (population) validity.
What is the key advantage of using stratified random sampling over simple random sampling?
Answer: It ensures proportional representation of subgroups in the sample
Stratified sampling divides the population into subgroups and samples from each, ensuring all relevant subgroups are adequately represented.
A researcher operationally defines 'stress' as the score on a 10-item self-report scale. A critic argues this misses physiological components of stress. What type of validity is being questioned?
Answer: Construct validity
Construct validity concerns whether the measurement tool accurately captures the theoretical construct it is supposed to measure.
In a Latin square design, what problem is it specifically designed to address?
Answer: Controlling for order effects when all participants receive all treatments
A Latin square balances the order in which conditions are presented across participants, controlling for order and carryover effects.
A study reports p = 0.03. A replication attempt finds p = 0.48 with the same sample size. Which experimental design issue most likely explains this discrepancy?
Answer: The original finding may have been a Type I error (false positive)
A failed replication with the same design suggests the original p < 0.05 result may have been a false positive (Type I error), especially if underpowered.
Which of the following is the strongest evidence for causality?
Answer: A statistically significant result from a well-controlled randomized experiment
A well-controlled randomized experiment with random assignment provides the strongest basis for causal inference by controlling confounds.
What does 'demand characteristics' refer to in an experiment?
Answer: Cues that lead participants to guess the study's purpose and alter their behavior accordingly
Demand characteristics are cues in the experimental setting that hint at the study's purpose, causing participants to change their behavior to match perceived expectations.