Many businesses and organizations insist that official communications use professional-looking fonts, such as Times New Roman. F
onts characterized as less professional, such as Comic Sans, should be avoided. A student would like to determine if font choice makes a difference in the average grade on a typed response in English classes. There are currently four English classes available from which the student can collect data, and each class has a similar writing assignment. The student considers two methods for collecting data. Method A: At the start of the assignment, students choose a font, either Times New Roman or Comic Sans, and then complete the assignment.
Method B: At the start of the assignment, students are randomly assigned one of two fonts, either Times New Roman or Comic Sans, and then complete the assignment.
In both methods, the teachers grade the papers received, and the mean grade for each font is determined.
Which method describes an experiment?
Method A is an experiment because the students choose their own font.
Method B is an experiment because the students are randomly assigned a font.
Both methods describe experiments because both fonts are used on the assignment.
Neither method describes an experiment because a third font should be included for comparison.
