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Chapter 1: Problem 12

The authors of the paper "Fudging the Numbers: Distributing Chocolate Influences Student Evaluations of an Undergraduate Course" (Teaching in Psychology [2007]: \(245-247\) ) carried out a study to see if events unrelated to an undergraduate course could affect student evaluations. Students enrolled in statistics courses taught by the same instructor participated in the study. All students attended the same lectures and one of six discussion sections that met once a week. At the end of the course, the researchers chose three of the discussion sections to be the "chocolate group." Students in these three sections were offered chocolate prior to having them fill out course evaluations. Students in the other three sections were not offered chocolate. The researchers concluded that "Overall, students offered chocolate gave more positive evaluations than students not offered chocolate." Indicate whether the study is an observational study or an experiment. Give a brief explanation for your choice.

Short Answer

Expert verified
The study mentioned in the given text is an experiment because the researchers are actively manipulating the factor of offering chocolate to observe its effect on student evaluations.

Step by step solution

01

Identify the factors in the study

The factors in the study are: offering chocolate (treatment) and student evaluations (outcome). The researchers are trying to see if offering chocolate affects student evaluations.
02

Determine if the study manipulates the factor(s)

The researchers have chosen three sections to be the "chocolate group" and offer these sections chocolate before having them fill out course evaluations. In contrast, the students in the other three sections were not offered chocolate. This indicates that the researchers are manipulating the factor of offering chocolate.
03

Assess if the study is an observational study or an experiment

Since the researchers are actively manipulating the factor of offering chocolate, they are attempting to observe the effect this has on student evaluations. Therefore, this study is not just observing the characteristics of the subjects but is actively trying to manipulate a variable. Based on this information, we can conclude that this study is an experiment. In conclusion, the study mentioned in the given text is an experiment because the researchers are actively manipulating the factor of offering chocolate in an attempt to observe its effect on student evaluations.

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Key Concepts

These are the key concepts you need to understand to accurately answer the question.

Student Evaluations
Student evaluations are an integral part of gauging the effectiveness of educational courses and instructors. They offer insights into a student's experience and perspective on the quality of teaching, the course content, and the learning atmosphere. In the context of the experiment from 'Teaching in Psychology', the researchers aimed to determine if providing chocolate to students could influence their evaluations of a statistics course.

While evaluating this study, it's important to recognize that student evaluations should typically measure educational outcomes such as comprehension of the material and the effectiveness of teaching methods. However, external factors like offering chocolate can introduce bias, thereby impacting the validity of the evaluations as purely educational feedback. This kind of insight is invaluable when considering how to interpret student evaluations and the conditions under which they are obtained.
Observational Study vs Experiment
Differentiating between an observational study and an experiment is crucial in understanding research methodologies in educational research. An observational study involves watching and recording the subjects in their natural environment without manipulation of variables by the researcher. In contrast, an experiment involves the deliberate manipulation of one or more variables to observe the effect of this change on another variable.

In the provided study from the Teaching in Psychology paper, offering chocolate is the manipulated variable, and student evaluations are the measured outcome. Because the researchers are deliberately changing the conditions for one group, this study is classified as an experiment. Understanding the distinction helps in critically assessing the quality of educational research and determining the potential for causal inferences.
Factors in Educational Research
In educational research, factors refer to the variables that are either being studied or controlled to understand their impact on educational outcomes. These can include instructional methods, learning materials, environmental changes, or in the unique case of the Teaching in Psychology study, even the offering of chocolate.

Identifying and clearly defining these factors allows researchers to establish relationships between variables and educational outcomes. For instance, manipulation of a factor such as providing chocolate enables the researchers to investigate its influence on a specific outcome, which in this case is student evaluations. Recognizing these factors and how they are applied within the research plays a significant role in crafting valid and reliable studies, creating sound pedagogic strategies, and ensuring that the findings of educational research can be practically applied to improve teaching and learning experiences.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

For each of the following statements, identify the number that appears in boldface type as the value of either a population characteristic or a statistic: a. A department store reports that \(84 \%\) of all customers who use the store's credit plan pay their bills on time. b. A sample of 100 students at a large university had a mean age of 24.1 years. c. The Department of Motor Vehicles reports that \(22 \%\) of all vehicles registered in a particular state are imports. d. A hospital reports that, based on the 10 most recent cases, the mean length of stay for surgical patients is \(\mathbf{6} . \mathbf{4}\) days. e. A consumer group, after testing 100 batteries of a certain brand, reported an average life of \(\mathbf{6 3}\) hours of use.

"Pecans Lower Cholesterol" is a headline that appeared in the magazine Woman's World (November 1 , 2010). Consider the following five study descriptions. For each of the study descriptions, answer these five questions: Question 1: Is the described study an observational study or an experiment? Question 2: Did the study use random selection from some population? Question 3: Did the study use random assignment to experimental groups? Question 4: Would the conclusion "pecans lower cholesterol" be appropriate given the study description? Explain. Question 5: Would it be reasonable to generalize conclusions from this study to some larger population? If so, what population? Study 1: Five hundred students were selected at random from those enrolled at a large college in Florida. Each student in the sample was asked whether they ate pecans more than once in a typical week, and their cholesterol levels were also measured. The average cholesterol level was significantly lower for the group who ate pecans more than once a week than for the group that did not. Study 2: One hundred people who live in Los Angeles volunteered to participate in a statistical study. The volunteers were divided based on gender, with women in group 1 and men in group \(2 .\) Those in group 1 were asked to eat 3 ounces of pecans daily for 1 month. Those in group 2 were asked not to eat pecans for 1 month. At the end of the month, the average cholesterol level was significantly lower for group 1 than for group 2 Study 3: Two hundred people volunteered to participate in a statistical study. Each person was asked how often he or she ate pecans, and their cholesterol levels were also measured. The average cholesterol level for those who ate pecans more than once a week was significantly lower than the average cholesterol level for those who did not eat pecans. Study 4: Two hundred people volunteered to participate in a statistical study. For each volunteer, a coin was tossed. If the coin landed heads up, the volunteer was assigned to group 1 . If the coin landed tails up, the volunteer was assigned to group 2 . Those in group 1 were asked to eat 3 ounces of pecans daily for 1 month. Those in group 2 were asked not to eat pecans for 1 month. At the end of the month, the average cholesterol level was significantly lower for group 1 than for group 2 . Study 5: One hundred students were selected at random from those enrolled at a large college. Each of the selected students was asked to participate in a study, and all agreed to participate. For each student, a coin was tossed. If the coin landed heads up, the student was assigned to group 1 . If the coin landed tails up, the student was assigned to group \(2 .\) Those in group 1 were asked to eat 3 ounces of pecans daily for 1 month. Those in group 2 were asked not to eat pecans for 1 month. At the end of the month, the average cholesterol level was significantly lower for group 1 than for group 2 .

For each of the statistical studies described, indicate whether the study is an observational study or an experiment. Give a brief explanation for your choice. A paper appearing in The Journal of Pain (March 2010 , 199-209) described a study to determine if meditation has an effect on sensitivity to pain. Study participants were assigned to one of three groups. One group meditated for 20 minutes; one group performed a distraction task (working math problems!) for 20 minutes; and one group practiced a relaxation technique for 20 minutes. Sensitivity to pain was measured both before and after the 20 -minute session.

A study described in Food Network Magazine (January 2012) concluded that people who push a shopping cart at a grocery store are less likely to purchase junk food than those who use a hand-held basket. a. Do you think this study was an observational study or an experiment? b. Is it reasonable to conclude that pushing a shopping cart causes people to be less likely to purchase junk food? Explain why or why not.

For each of the statistical studies described, indicate whether the study is an observational study or an experiment. Give a brief explanation for your choice. The following conclusion from a statistical study appeared in the article "Smartphone Nation" (AARP Bulletin, September 2009): "If you love your smartphone, you're far from alone. Half of all boomers sleep with their cell phone within arm's length. Two of three people ages 50 to 64 use a cell phone to take photos, according to a 2010 Pew Research Center report."
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