Explain why you should increase the levels in a design? What are the disadvantages of doing so? Give two reasons for each, and explain.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Ans: Increasing the levels of the independent variables in a design accomplishes many things. For one thing, the levels of variables in the real world are seldom simply two. If you consider variables such as height, weight, social media accounts, religious faiths, and many more, they are not just two. If researchers only study two levels, we are not representing reality. Further, if we only had two, we might miss the actual answer if the answer fell in between those two levels. The major drawback of such designs is the number of participants such designs require. One has to have participants in each cell to represent the variables of interest and sometimes those participants can be difficult to find. Further, sometimes it is not just about numbers but the kinds of participants needed. If you are randomly assigning people to groups, it is relatively easy to fill the cells, but if you have to find certain kinds of people, then it might be difficult or even impossible. In conclusion, just as with any other design, the choice must be based on a number of factors, but most importantly, the research design must fit the research question.