Exam 6: Experimentation and Causal Research

According to the text, a(n)________ is the group exposed to the manipulated independent variable.

Dependent variables are variables that are manipulated by the researcher and whose effects are measured and compared.

All of the following are good examples of test units EXCEPT ________.

A factorial design is a statistical experimental design used to measure the effects of two or more independent variables at various levels and to allow for interactions between variables.

The ________ is not exposed to the independent variable manipulation but provides a point of comparison when examining the effects of these manipulations on the dependent variable.

External validity refers to whether the manipulation of the independent variables or treatments actually caused the observed effects on the dependent variables.

True experimental designs include the ________ and ________.

Opinions, tastes, and preferences in virtual worlds are the same as in a real setting.

A design in which a single group of subjects is exposed to a treatment (X), and then a single measurement on the dependent variable is taken (O₁)is called a(n)________.

________ is the extent to which a cause, X, and an effect, Y, occur together or vary together in the way predicted by the hypothesis under consideration.

All of the experimental designs discussed in the book can be implemented within the context of the virtual world but not the real social world.

Preexperimental designs are distinguished by the fact that the researcher can randomly assign test units to experimental groups and also randomly assign treatments to experimental groups.

________ implies that the occurrence of X increases the probability of the occurrence of Y.

According to the text, experiments can be described in terms of all of the following EXCEPT ________.

The control group is not exposed to the independent variable manipulation, but provides a point of comparison when examining the effects of these manipulations on the dependent variable.

________ variables are variables that are manipulated by the researcher and whose effects are measured and compared.

Designs that do not control for extraneous factors by randomization are called true experimental design.

Using the set of symbols commonly used in marketing research to denote experimental designs, which symbol below represents the exposure of a group to an independent variable, treatment, or event?

In a Pepsi project the researcher is interested in examining the effect of humor and the effect of various levels of brand information on advertising effectiveness. Three levels of humor (no humor, some humor, and high humor)are to be examined. Likewise, brand information is to be manipulated at three levels (low, medium, and high). The resulting table would be three rows (levels of information)by three columns (levels of humor), producing nine possible combinations or cells. The respondents would be randomly assigned to one of the nine cells. Respondents in each cell would receive a specific treatment combination. After exposure to a treatment combination, measures would be obtained on attitudes toward Pepsi advertising, brand, and the celebrity from respondents in each cell. To which category of design does this fall into?

Concomitant variation occurs when the presumed cause and presumed effect are both present and both vary in a manner predicted by the researcher's hypothesis.