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A developmental psychologist randomly assigns children to either a play-based math program or a standard curriculum. Despite random assignment, the play-based group ends up having a slightly higher average age by chance. Apply the principles of managing the fallibility of random assignment to state two specific methodological or analytical steps the researcher should rely on to ensure this age difference does not invalidate their conclusions.
Question: A developmental psychologist randomly assigns children to either a play-based math program or a standard curriculum. Despite random assignment, the play-based group ends up having a slightly higher average age by chance. Apply the principles of managing the fallibility of random assignment to state two specific methodological or analytical steps the researcher should rely on to ensure this age difference does not invalidate their conclusions.
Sample answer: First, the researcher should use inferential statistics to analyze the data, as these statistics mathematically account for potential random error and chance group differences. Second, the researcher should advocate for or conduct a replication of the experiment to ensure that any observed math performance differences are consistent and not merely due to the age confound.
Key points:
- Use inferential statistics to account for potential random error and group differences.
- Replicate the study to detect if the random age difference created a confounding variable.
Rubric: The answer should apply the principles of random assignment fallibility by stating two clear steps: 1) utilizing inferential statistics to account for random error/group differences, and 2) replicating the study to verify results and detect potential confounds.
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Research Methods in Psychology - 4th American Edition @ KPU
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A developmental psychologist randomly assigns children to either a play-based math program or a standard curriculum. Despite random assignment, the play-based group ends up having a slightly higher average age by chance. Apply the principles of managing the fallibility of random assignment to state two specific methodological or analytical steps the researcher should rely on to ensure this age difference does not invalidate their conclusions.