Learning Objectives

  1. List the essential components of a true experimental design.
  2. Identify the consequences of using random assignment in an experiment.
  3. Distinguish the concepts of random assignment (randomization) and random sampling.
  4. Explain the advantages and disadvantages of using quasi-experimental and experimental designs.
  5. Define five of the threats to internal validity in research designs, and explain the extent to which each is a source of concern in true experimental designs.
  6. Compare the influences on external validity (generalizability) in experimental design to those on internal validity (causal validity).
  7. Discuss the most distinctive ethical challenges in experimental research.
  8. Understand how factorial surveys increase sample generalizability.