Basic Experimental Design

 A researcher examined the effect of relaxation training on insomnia.  Subjects received 0, 2, 4, or 8 sessions of relaxation training.  Following training, the researcher measured how long it took the participants to fall asleep in their homes.  The average time for each group is presented in the following table:  

TRAINING SESSIONS                      MEAN TIME (minutes)

                 0                                                  72

2                                                  58

4                                                  31

                  8                                                 14                   

1.           Provide definitions for independent variable and dependent variable.

 

 

2.           Identify the independent and dependent variables in the above scenario.

 

3.           How many levels of the independent variable are there?  Explain.

 

4.           Is the manipulation a type variable or an amount variable?  Explain.

 

5.    Which type of manipulation is being used in this experiment: presence/absence variable, bivalent variable, or multivalent variable? Explain.

 

 

6.    On a scale of 1 (very low) to 5 (very high) how would you rate the external validity of this study?  Explain.
 

 

7.           Given the specifics of the experiment presented above, discuss two possible confounding variables.

8.     For the confounding variables above, describe how you might exert control over the possible confound.

9.     Describe how implementing these controls would impact external validity.

10.    Describe how implementing these controls would impact internal validity.