How does random assignment help researchers who are attempting to conduct true experiments? What might happen if randomization is not used when assigning participants to groups?
What will be an ideal response?
Ans: Varies.
Researchers use random assignment to distribute individual difference variables across all levels of the independent variable. Because random assignment relies on chance, it is an unbiased method of assigning participants to groups. If researchers were to assign groups by another method, one that was somehow biased, they could introduce an individual difference variable that varies systematically with the independent variable and influences the dependent variable. This individual difference variable would then be a confound, offering an alternative explanation for the results. Confounds prevent researchers from concluding that the independent variable affects the dependent variable. Note that because random assignment relies on chance it may still produce groups that are not equivalent to each other, which is why individual differences are always a concern for between-subject designs.
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What will be an ideal response?
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