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Random assignment is a technique used in experimental research to ensure that participants are allocated to different groups or conditions in a way that is not influenced by any biases or pre-existing differences. This process helps to create equivalent groups, enhancing the credibility of the experiment's conclusions by minimizing confounding variables.
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5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test
- Random assignment helps eliminate selection bias, ensuring that differences between groups are due to the experimental treatment rather than other variables.
- This technique is crucial for internal validity, as it strengthens causal inferences by demonstrating that changes in outcomes can be attributed to the manipulated variables.
- It allows researchers to generalize their findings to a larger population since it creates groups that are statistically equivalent on all relevant characteristics.
- Random assignment can be achieved through methods like flipping a coin, using random number generators, or drawing lots to assign participants to groups.
- It's essential for designing both between-subjects and within-subjects experiments, influencing how treatments are administered and compared.
Review Questions
- Random assignment enhances internal validity by ensuring that each participant has an equal chance of being placed in any experimental group. This process reduces the likelihood of pre-existing differences between groups affecting the outcomes. By balancing out participant characteristics across conditions, researchers can confidently attribute observed effects to the treatment rather than other variables.
- In between-subjects designs, random assignment helps create equivalent groups by randomly allocating different participants to separate conditions. In within-subjects designs, although all participants experience all conditions, random assignment can still be applied to determine the order in which they encounter those conditions. This approach minimizes order effects and ensures that any differences observed are due to the treatments themselves.
- Stratified random sampling involves dividing a population into subgroups and then randomly selecting from these groups to ensure representation across key characteristics. When combined with random assignment in an experiment, researchers first use stratified sampling to form a diverse participant pool and then employ random assignment to allocate these individuals into experimental groups. This integration ensures that the groups are both representative of the overall population and balanced in terms of critical variables, enhancing both internal and external validity of the findings.
Related terms
A group of participants that does not receive the experimental treatment, allowing researchers to compare outcomes against those who do receive it.
A method used to select participants for a study where each individual has an equal chance of being chosen, aiming to ensure the sample represents the broader population.
A technique where participants and/or researchers are kept unaware of which group participants belong to, reducing bias in the treatment administration and outcome assessment.
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Subjects ( 28 ).
- AP Psychology
- AP Statistics
- Abnormal Psychology
- Advanced Communication Research Methods
- Applied Impact Evaluation
- Art Therapy
- Biostatistics
- Causal Inference
- Cognitive Psychology
- College Introductory Statistics
- Communication Research Methods
- Data, Inference, and Decisions
- Developmental Psychology
- Educational Psychology
- Honors Statistics
- Intro to Business Statistics
- Intro to Psychology
- Introduction to Biostatistics
- Introduction to Political Research
- Language and Cognition
- Market Research: Tools and Techniques for Data Collection and Analysis
- Marketing Strategy
- Media Effects
- Philosophy of Science
- Physiology of Motivated Behaviors
- Probability and Statistics
- Professionalism and Research in Nursing
- Social Psychology
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Random assignment is a process used in experimental research to allocate subjects into different groups—such as treatment and control groups—using a random method. The goal is to distribute participants in a way that each individual has the same probability of …
Random assignment minimizes _____ between experimental and control groups. Random sampling minimizes _____ between a sample and a population. a.similarities,differences …
Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like Random assignment minimizes _____ between experimental and control groups. Random sampling minimizes …
Random assignment is used in experiments with a between-groups or independent measures design. In this research design, there’s usually a control group and one or more experimental groups. Random assignment …
Random assignment is used in experiments with a between-groups or independent measures design. In these research designs, researchers will manipulate an independent variable to assess its effect on a dependent …
Random assignment helps reduce the chances of systematic differences between the groups at the start of an experiment and, thereby, mitigates the threats of confounding variables and alternative explanations.