Test bank herman aguinis – performance management ch12

Chapter 12—Experimental Research
TRUE/FALSE
1. Experimental research attempts to find causal relationships among variables.
ANS: T
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 257

2. In an experiment, the researcher manipulates the dependent variable and measures its effect on the
independent variable.
ANS: F
The researcher manipulates the independent variable(s) and measures its effect on the dependent
variable.
PTS: 1

REF: p. 257

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

3. Participants in experimental research are typically referred to as respondents.
ANS: F
Participants in experimental research are referred to as subjects rather than respondents.
PTS: 1

REF: p. 258

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

4. An experimental construct refers to one of the possible levels of an experimental variable
manipulation.

ANS: F
This describes an experimental condition.
PTS: 1

REF: p. 258

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

5. Covariates are categorical variables (such as a subject’s gender or ethnicity) which are not manipulated
but are included in the statistical analysis of experiments.
ANS: F
Categorical variables such as these are called blocking variables.
PTS: 1

REF: p. 258

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

6. An experimental treatment is the term referring to the way an experimental variable is manipulated.
ANS: T
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 261

7. A control group is one in which an experimental treatment is administered.
ANS: F
This is an experimental group. A control group is one in which no experimental treatment is
administered.
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whole or in part.


PTS: 1

REF: p. 261

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

8. Often, the term linkage is used to refer to a treatment combination within an experiment.
ANS: F
The term is cell.
PTS: 1

REF: p. 263

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9. Experiments in which an individual subject is exposed to more than one level of an experimental
treatment are referred to as repeated measures designs.
ANS: T
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 263

10. An experiment can have only one experimental variable.
ANS: F
Experiments can have more than one independent (i.e, experimental) variable.
PTS: 1

REF: p. 263

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

11. People are the most common test units in most business experiments.
ANS: T
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 264

12. The most common procedure to try to ensure that experimental and control groups do not differ from
each other in important ways at the beginning of a research study is random assignment of subjects to
treatment and control groups.
ANS: T
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 264

13. A confound in an experiment means that there is an alternative explanation beyond the experimental
variables for any observed differences in the dependent variable.
ANS: T
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 265

14. When subjects guess the purpose of an experiment, this creates a confound known as a bias effect.

ANS: F
This is called a demand effect.
PTS: 1

REF: p. 267

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

15. One way to reduce demand characteristics is to tell subjects the purpose of the experiment so they will
be more willing to participate honestly.
ANS: F
One way of reducing demand characteristics is to use an experimental disguise.
PTS: 1

REF: p. 268

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

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whole or in part.


16. A confound is an experimental deception involving a false treatment.
ANS: F
This is a placebo.
PTS: 1

REF: p. 269

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17. The people administering an experiment must be aware of the experimental hypotheses.
ANS: F
One way to reduce demand characteristics is to use a “blind” experimental administrator who does not
now the experimental hypotheses.
PTS: 1

REF: p. 269

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

18. Factorial experimental designs are the least sophisticated type of experimental design.
ANS: F
Factorial experimental designs are more sophisticated than basic experimental designs.
PTS: 1

REF: p. 271

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

19. When a test market is conducted in five retail stores in Erie, Pennsylvania, this is an example of a
laboratory experiment.
ANS: F
This is an example of a field experiment.
PTS: 1

REF: p. 272

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20. Between-subjects designs involve repeated measures because with each treatment the same subject is
measured.
ANS: F
This describes a within-subjects design.
PTS: 1

REF: p. 273

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21. The question as to whether the experimental treatment was the "sole cause" of the changes in the
dependent variable is the basic issue in external validity.
ANS: F
This is the basic issue in internal validity.
PTS: 1

REF: p. 274

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

22. A maturation effect in an experiment is a function of time and the naturally occurring events that
coincide with growth and experience.
ANS: T
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 276

23. Field experiments tend to have less external validity than laboratory experiments.
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whole or in part.


ANS: F
External validity is increase when the subjects truly represent some population and when the results
extend to market segments or other groups of people.
PTS: 1

REF: p. 277

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

24. When the gender of respondents (male, female) is thought to affect in important ways the dependent
variable, an experimenter can attempt to block out the effect of gender on the results of the study.
ANS: T
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 284

25. A 3 x 3 factorial experiment requires six combinations of treatment groups.
ANS: F
It requires nine combinations of treatment groups (3 x 3 = 9).
PTS: 1

REF: p. 285

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

26. Factorial designs allow researchers to measure interaction effects.

ANS: T
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 285

MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. "Does package size affect consumption rates in snack products?" is a typical question in what type of
research design?
a. descriptive research
b. time-series research
c. experimental research
d. phone surveys
ANS: C
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 257

2. A researcher is conducting an experiment in which one group of people is exposed to an advertisement
and another group is exposed to another advertisement. He is examining the effect of headline font
sizes on consumers’ attitude toward the brand advertised. The participants in this experimental
research are referred to as:
a. respondents
b. elements
c. factorials
d. subjects
ANS: D
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 258

3. Categorical variables like a subject’s gender or ethnicity are known as which type of variable in
experimental research?
a. blocking variables
b. covariates
c. main variables
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whole or in part.


d. confounds
ANS: A
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 258

4. The experimental difference in means between the different levels of any single experimental variable
is referred to as a(n):
a. interaction effect
b. primary effect
c. main effect
d. confound
ANS: C
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 259

5. Experimental results that show that consumers purchased more when a store had a blue color with
bright lights than they did when a store was orange with bright lights but no difference when the
lighting was low is an example of which type of effect?
a. main
b. interaction
c. confound
d. synergistic
ANS: B
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 260

6. All of the following are experimental design issues EXCEPT:
a. selection and assignment of subjects to treatments
b. control over extraneous variables
c. manipulation of the independent variable
d. manipulation of the dependent variable
ANS: D
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 260

7. If the level of advertising expenditures is compared to the number of units sold at the end of a fourmonth period, the independent variable is _____ while the dependent variable is _____.
a. advertising expenditure level; units sold
b. customer satisfaction; advertising expenditure level
c. units sold; advertising expenditure level
d. none of the above

ANS: A
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 260

8. The group receiving an experimental treatment is called the:
a. primary group
b. experimental group
c. control group
d. unit of analysis
ANS: B
PTS: 1
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REF: p. 261

9. Which of the following is the term used to refer to a treatment combination within an experiment?
a. level
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whole or in part.


b. link
c. cell
d. unit
ANS: C
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 263

10. Monica is conducting an experiment where all subjects rotate through all of the training programs she
is testing. This type of experiment in which an individual subject is exposed to more than one level of
an experimental treatment is called:
a. between-subjects
b. repeated measures
c. redundant manipulation
d. randomization
ANS: B
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 263

11. Which of the following are possible test units in a business research study?
a. people
b. sales territories
c. strategic business units
d. all of the above
ANS: D
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 264

12. Which of the following occurs if the sampling units in an experimental cell are somehow different than
the units in another cell, and this difference affects the dependent variable?
a. systematic or nonsampling error
b. sampling error

c. experimenter bias
d. subject bias
ANS: A
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 264

13. Which of the following is a way for a researcher to equally distribute the effects of extraneous
variables to all conditions in an experiment?
a. confounding
b. split sampling
c. repeated measures
d. randomization
ANS: D
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 264

14. Which of the following means that there is an alternative explanation beyond the experimental
variables for any observed differences in the dependent variables?
a. confound
b. interaction
c. randomization
d. repeated measures
ANS: A
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 265

© 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in
whole or in part.


15. Which term refers to an experimental design element that unintentionally provides subjects with hints
about the research hypothesis.
a. demand characteristic
b. Hawthorne effect
c. testing effect
d. confounding effect
ANS: A
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 267

16. Which of the following is present when the person administering experimental procedures influences
the subjects’ behavior or sways them to slant their answers to cooperate with him or her?
a. experimenter bias
b. response bias
c. Type I error
d. Type II error
ANS: A
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 267

17. When subjects act differently because they are aware that they are in an experiment, this is called the:
a. history effect
b. Hawthorne effect
c. maturation effect
d. repeated measures effect
ANS: B
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 268

18. All of the following are ways to reduce demand characteristics EXCEPT:
a. use an experimental disguise
b. administer multiple experimental treatment levels to each subject
c. use a “blind” experimental administrator
d. isolate experimental subjects
ANS: B
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 268

19. Caroline is participating in an experimental study in which she is taking an herbal supplement and the
researcher measures her perceived energy levels for several weeks. Although she doesn’t know it, the
supplement she is given in the study does not contain any of the herb of interest in the study.
However, Caroline feels as though she has more energy than before, and she attributes it to the herbal
supplement. This effect due to the psychological impact that goes along with knowledge that a
treatment has been administered is called a(n):
a. maturation effect
b. false positive

c. counterbalancing effect
d. placebo effect
ANS: D
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 269

20. When subjects in all experimental groups are exposed to identical conditions except for the differing
experimental treatments, this is called:
© 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in
whole or in part.


a.
b.
c.
d.

the Hawthorne effect
confounding
constancy of conditions
compounding

ANS: C
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 270

21. If a soft-drink company performs an experiment with a new type of soft drink in which experimental
subjects always taste this new product first and then taste a competitor's product second, the study has
an error in design termed a(n):
a. history effect
b. maturation effect
c. order of presentation effect
d. guinea pig effect
ANS: C
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 270

22. When a food company tests a new product by having one group of experimental subjects taste this
product first and then taste a competitor's product second, while a second group of experimental
subjects tastes these two products in the reverse order, the experimental design has been:
a. counterbalanced
b. reversed
c. confounded
d. validated
ANS: A
PTS: 1
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REF: p. 270

23. Which of the following is critical when conducting experimental research because it allows researchers
to return subjects to normal?
a. manipulation check
b. cohort analysis

c. debriefing
d. deception
ANS: C
PTS: 1
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REF: p. 270

24. Which experimental design involves manipulating a single independent variable to observe its effect
on a single dependent variable?
a. primary experimental design
b. basic experimental design
c. factorial experimental design
d. counterbalanced experimental design
ANS: B
PTS: 1
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REF: p. 271

25. When an experiment is conducted on the premises of a research organization, this is an example of a:
a. static group design
b. laboratory experiment
c. field experiment
d. controlled store test
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whole or in part.


ANS: B

PTS: 1
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REF: p. 272

26. A researcher is interested in the level of employees’ understanding of health benefit options. He is
interested in how the amount of time spent looking at the brochure for each option influences
understanding, so he’s using a device that controls the amount of time a subject is exposed to the
brochure. This device is called a:
a. pupilometer
b. psychgalvanometer
c. tachistoscope
d. rotoscope
ANS: C
PTS: 1
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REF: p. 272

27. Research projects involving experimental manipulations that are implemented in a natural environment
are called:
a. laboratory experiments
b. field experiments
c. primary experiments
d. secondary experiments
ANS: B
PTS: 1
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REF: p. 272

28. Which experimental research design involves repeated measures?
a. within-subjects design
b. between-subjects design
c. squared-subjects design
d. interdependent-subjects design
ANS: A
PTS: 1
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REF: p. 272

29. In which experimental research design does each subject receive only one treatment combination?
a. within-subjects design
b. between-subjects design
c. squared-subjects design
d. independent-subjects design
ANS: B
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 274

30. The question as to whether the independent variable was the sole cause of the change in the dependent
variable is the basic issue in:
a. a repeated measures study
b. internal validity
c. a matching study
d. external validity
ANS: B

PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 274

© 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in
whole or in part.


31. When subjects in an experiment in which the they were exposed to varying price levels for a product
are asked how low they believe the price of the product to be so that the researcher can determine
whether or not the subjects perceived “high” and “low” conditions, this is an example of a:
a. manipulation check
b. reliability assessment
c. factor analysis
d. surrogate manipulation
ANS: A
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 275

32. When a competitor introduces a 15 percent price cut in order to blunt the effect of a test marketing
study, this is an example of a:
a. maturation effect
b. testing effect
c. history effect
d. cohort effect
ANS: C
PTS: 1

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 275

33. Which of the following is a special case of the history effect and refers to a change in the dependent
variable that occurs because members of one experimental group experienced different historical
situations than members of other experimental groups?
a. cohort effect
b. Hawthorne effect
c. testing effect
d. instrumentation effect
ANS: A
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 276

34. Which of the following is a function of time and the naturally occurring events that coincide with
growth and experience?
a. history effect
b. testing effect
c. selection effect
d. maturation effect
ANS: D
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 276

35. When salespeople are tested one year after a sales training program and perform better on the exam,

not because of the training program, but because they have gained one year's experience in sales, this
is an example of a:
a. selection effect
b. maturation effect
c. history effect
d. cohort effect
ANS: B
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 276

© 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in
whole or in part.


36. When high school students who take the ACT in their junior year perform better on that exam during
their senior year because they know better how to take the exam because of what they experienced on
the first exam, this is an example of a(n):
a. mortality effect
b. testing effect
c. history effect
d. instrumentation effect
ANS: B
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 276

37. When different interviewers are used in a pretest from those used in the posttest and this produces

different results in the study, this is an example of a(n):
a. history effect
b. mortality effect
c. instrumentation effect
d. cohort effect
ANS: C
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 276

38. Which of the following is a threat to the internal validity of experiment using a repeated measures
design?
a. instrumentation effect
b. redundancy effect
c. cohort effect
d. attrition effect
ANS: A
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 276

39. When some subjects exit the experiment before it is completed and this effects the results of the study,
this is an example of a(n):
a. mortality effect
b. history effect
c. instrumentation effect
d. confounding effect
ANS: A

PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 277

40. When a researcher tries to say that the results of a test market in Indianapolis, Indiana will hold in a
national rollout of the new product, this researcher is concerned with:
a. internal validity
b. the repeated measures effect
c. constant error
d. external validity
ANS: D
PTS: 1
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REF: p. 278

41. When a Ford Motor Co. dealer in St. Louis tries to reduce his inventory of new cars by offering "two
free tickets on American Airlines to anywhere American Airlines flies within the continental United
States" to anyone who purchases a new car in February, this is an example of a(n):
a. one-shot design
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whole or in part.


b. pretest-posttest control group design
c. Solomon four-group design
d. posttest-only control group design
ANS: A
PTS: 1

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 279

42. Which experimental design has the following symbols:
a. static group design
b. after-only design
c. Solomon four-group design
d. one-group pretest-posttest design
ANS: D
PTS: 1
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O 1 X O2

REF: p. 279

43. Which experimental design has the following symbols:
Experimental group:
Control group:
a.
b.
c.
d.

R
R

O1 X O2
O3 O4

one-shot design
static group design
posttest-only control group design
pretest-posttest control group design

ANS: D
PTS: 1
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REF: p. 280

44. Which experimental design has the following symbols:
Experimental group:
Control group:
a.
b.
c.
d.

R
R

X O1
O2

static group design
Solomon four-group design
one-group pretest-posttest design
posttest-only control group design

ANS: D
PTS: 1
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REF: p. 282

45. Which experimental design has the following symbols:
a.
b.
c.
d.

O1 O2 O3 X O4 O5 O6
static group design
after-only design
time series design
pretest-posttest control group design

ANS: C
PTS: 1
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REF: p. 282

46. An experimental design that uses a random process to assign subjects to treatment levels of an
experimental variable is called a:
© 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in
whole or in part.

a.
b.
c.
d.

main effect design
completely randomized design
Solomon design
systematic design

ANS: B
PTS: 1
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REF: p. 283

47. In which experimental design is a single, categorical extraneous variable that might affect test units’
responses to the treatment identified and the effects isolated by being blocked out?
a. completely randomized design
b. randomized-block design
c. factorial design
d. interactive block design
ANS: B
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 284

48. A researcher is interested in examining the effect of background music and lighting on sales in a

restaurant, so he wants to conduct an experiment that manipulates different levels of each. Which
experimental design would be best to examine the effects of these two treatments at various levels?
a. completely randomized design
b. randomized-block design
c. factorial design
d. interactive design
ANS: C
PTS: 1
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REF: p. 285

49. A 2 x 2 x 2 experimental design has _____ factors, each of which has _____ levels.
a. eight; three
b. three; two
c. three; eight
d. two; three
ANS: B
PTS: 1
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REF: p. 285

50. A 3 x 2 experimental design requires _____ combinations of subgroup cells.
a. six
b. two
c. five
d. nine
ANS: A
PTS: 1

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REF: p. 285

COMPLETION
1. In an experiment, the ____________________ variable is manipulated and its effect is measured on
the ____________________ variable.
ANS: independent, dependent
PTS: 1

REF: p. 257

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© 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in
whole or in part.


2. In an experiment, the change in the ____________________ variable is presumed to be the cause of
the results.
ANS: independent
PTS: 1

REF: p. 257

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

3. A categorical variable that is not manipulated but is expected to show a statistical relationship with the
dependent variables is known as a(n) ____________________ variable.
ANS: blocking

PTS: 1

REF: p. 258

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

4. Experimental difference in means between the different levels of any single experimental variable is
referred to as a(n) ____________________.
ANS: main effect
PTS: 1

REF: p. 259

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

5. In an experiment, the treatment is administered to the ____________________ group.
ANS: experimental
PTS: 1

REF: p. 261

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

6. If subjects in the experimental group are administered the treatment in the afternoon while the subjects
in the control group participate in the experiment in the morning, the study is said to experience
____________________ error.
ANS: systematic or nonsampling
PTS: 1

REF: p. 264

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

7. The random assignment of subject and treatments to groups is called ____________________.
ANS: randomization
PTS: 1

REF: p. 264

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

8. When the researcher unintentionally provides the subjects with hints about what he wants them to say
in the study, this is an example of a(n) ____________________.
ANS: demand characteristic
PTS: 1

REF: p. 267

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

9. When the experimenter’s comments influence the subjects’ behavior so that they give answers that
they think the experimenter wants to hear rather than their true feelings, we say that
____________________ has occurred.
ANS: experimenter bias
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whole or in part.


PTS: 1

REF: p. 267

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

10. When subjects in an experiment perform differently because they realize that they are participating in
an experiment, this is called the ____________________ effect.
ANS: Hawthorne
PTS: 1

REF: p. 268

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

11. An experimental deception that involves a false treatment is called a(n) ____________________.
ANS: placebo
PTS: 1

REF: p. 269

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

12. When subjects in all experimental groups are exposed to identical conditions except for the differing
experimental treatments, we say that ____________________ has occurred.
ANS: constancy of conditions
PTS: 1

REF: p. 270

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

13. When a research organization conducts a taste test in its offices located in a shopping mall, this is an
example of a(n) ____________________ experiment.
ANS: laboratory
PTS: 1

REF: p. 271

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

14. When Procter & Gamble conducts a test market for a new shampoo in Kansas City and St. Louis, this
is an example of a(n) ____________________ experiment.
ANS: field
PTS: 1

REF: p. 272

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

15. A ____________________ effect is a nuisance effect occurring when the initial measurement or test
alerts or primes subjects in a way that affects their response to the experimental treatments.
ANS: testing
PTS: 1

REF: p. 276

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

16. When subjects are randomly assigned to treatment groups to study the effects of manipulating an
independent variable, this is called a(n) ____________________ design.
ANS: completely randomized

PTS: 1

REF: p. 283

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

17. In a factorial design, the influence of one independent variable on a dependent variable is called a
____________________.
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whole or in part.


ANS: main effect
PTS: 1

REF: p. 285

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

18. A(n) ____________________ experimental design allows for testing of the effects of two or more
treatments at various levels.
ANS: factorial
PTS: 1

REF: p. 285

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

19. ____________________ produce differences in the dependent variable between experimental cells
based on combinations of variables.

ANS: Interactions
PTS: 1

REF: p. 285

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

20. A 3 x 3 experimental design incorporates ____________________ factors, each having
____________________ levels.
ANS: two, three
PTS: 1

REF: p. 285

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

ESSAY
1. List the four important elements in experimental design.
ANS:
Experimental designs involve no less than four important design elements:
(1) Manipulation of the independent variable(s)
(2) Selection and measurement of the dependent variable(s)
(3) Selection and assignment of experimental subjects
(4) Control over extraneous variables
PTS: 1
REF: p. 260
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking| AACSB: Communication
2. Explain how systematic or nonsampling error occurs in experiments and discuss ways to minimize it.
ANS:
Systematic or nonsampling error may occur if the sampling units in an experimental cell are

somehow different than the units in another cell, and this difference affects the dependent variable.
Randomization, which is the random assignment of subject and treatments to groups, is one device
for equally distributing the effects of extraneous variables to all conditions. The presence of nuisance
variables will not be eliminated, but they will be controlled because they are likely to exist to the same
degree in every experimental cell. Matching the respondents on the basis of pertinent background
information is another technique for controlling systematic error by assigning subjects in a way that
their characteristics are the same in each group.
PTS: 1
REF: pp. 264-265
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking| AACSB: Communication
© 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in
whole or in part.


3. Discuss what is meant by demand characteristics and why they are a concern for researchers. Discuss
four ways of reducing demand characteristics.
ANS:
The term demand characteristic refers to an experimental design element that unintentionally
provides subjects with hints about the research hypothesis. So, knowledge of the experimental
hypothesis creates a confound known as a demand effect. Demand characteristics are aspects of an
experiment that demand (encourage) that the subjects respond in a particular way, hence being a source
of systematic error. Ways of reducing demand characteristics include:
(1) Use an experimental disguise
(2) Isolate experimental subjects
(3) Use a “blind” experimental administrator
(4) Administer only one experimental treatment level to each subject
PTS: 1
REF: pp. 267-268
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking| AACSB: Communication
4. Explain the advantages of a between-subjects experimental design over a within-subjects design.

ANS:
A within-subjects design involves repeated measures because with each treatment the same subject is
measured. In contrast, a between-subjects design measure each dependent variable only once for
each subject. Between-subjects designs are usually advantageous although they are usually more
costly. The validity of between-subjects designs is usually higher because by applying only one
treatment combination to one subject, demand characteristics are greatly reduced. When a subject sees
multiple conditions, he or she is more likely to guess what the study is about. In addition, statistical
analyses of between-subjects designs are simpler than within-subjects designs. This also means the
results are easier to report and explain to management.
PTS: 1
REF: p. 273
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking| AACSB: Communication
5. Compare and contrast internal validity and external validity and discuss which one is most important
in experimental research.
ANS:
Internal validity exists to the extent that an experimental variable is truly responsible for any variance
in the dependent variable. In other words, does the experimental manipulation truly cause changes in
the specific outcome of interest? Internal validity depends in large part on successful manipulations.
External validity is the accuracy with which experimental results can be generalized beyond the
experimental subjects. It is increased when the subjects comprising the sample truly represent some
population and when the results extend to market segments or other groups of people. The higher the
external validity, the more researchers and managers can count on the fact that any results observed in
an experiment will also be seen in the “real world.”
Researchers often must trade internal validity for external validity. Laboratory experiments with many
controlled factors usually are high in internal validity, while field experiments generally have less
internal validity, but greater external validity. Ideally, results from lab experiments would be followed
up with some type of field test.
PTS: 1
REF: pp. 274-277
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking| AACSB: Communication

© 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in
whole or in part.


6. Compare and contrast completely randomized designs and randomized-block designs.
ANS:
Both are types of complex experimental designs. A completely randomized design is an
experimental design that uses a random process to assign subjects to treatment levels of an
experimental variable. Randomization of experimental units is the researcher’s attempt to control
extraneous variables while manipulating potential causes. The randomized-block design is an
extension of the completely randomized design. A form of randomization is used to control for most
extraneous variations; however, the researcher has identified a single extraneous variable that might
affect subjects’ responses systematically. The researcher will attempt to isolate the effects of this
single variable by blocking out its effects.
PTS: 1
REF: pp. 283-284
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking| AACSB: Communication

© 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in
whole or in part.