Question

A researcher is interested in testing the effectiveness of using "clickers" for question-and-answer sessions during lectures. He asks students in the morning section of his course to use clickers to respond to in-class questions. Students in the afternoon section write answers to questions in their notebook. He compares the students' average test performance for the two sections. The researcher will not be able to interpret the results because his study is flawed due to_________________.
A. his limited ability to generalize his results to other students and courses.
B. the confounding of class section (morning, afternoon) and response method (clicker, notebook).
C. his failure to manipulate an independent variable.
D. the correlation between response method (clicker, notebook) and test performance.

Answer 1

Answer:

B). The confounding of class section (morning, afternoon) and response method (clicker, notebook).

Explanation:

The given research study would not be able to reach a worthy conclusion or results as the study is flawed due to 'the confounding of class section (morning, afternoon) and response method (clicker, notebook).' Thus, the comparison or assessment of two sections through different methods would lead to bafflement or confusion(due to testing different sections of the class(morning, afternoon) through different methods(clicker, notebook)  that would restrict the researchers to reach a conclusion. Therefore, the study would not reach a deduction and hence, option B is the correct answer.