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Lecture 4 - Principles of Experimental Design

This document discusses key aspects of experimental research design, including: defining treatment and experimental units; comparing control and experimental groups through random assignment; manipulating independent variables at varying levels; using randomization, replication, and blocking/stratification to reduce bias and improve precision; and blinding measurements to remove unconscious bias. Well-designed experiments aim to have unbiased treatments, high precision through uniform conditions and replication, and simplicity to minimize mistakes.

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97 views23 pages

Lecture 4 - Principles of Experimental Design

This document discusses key aspects of experimental research design, including: defining treatment and experimental units; comparing control and experimental groups through random assignment; manipulating independent variables at varying levels; using randomization, replication, and blocking/stratification to reduce bias and improve precision; and blinding measurements to remove unconscious bias. Well-designed experiments aim to have unbiased treatments, high precision through uniform conditions and replication, and simplicity to minimize mistakes.

Uploaded by

thinagaran
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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 An experimental research is a scientific test that


investigates the relationship between the outcome (DV)
and one or more conditions (IV) manipulated by the
researcher (cause and effect)
 A thorough definition of the objectives of the design is
required to make easy access whether the chosen
treatments are sufficient to assess the objectives.
 Treatment: set of different experimental conditions to
be tested (FACTOR)
 Experimental units: the smallest division of the
experimental material such that any two units may
receive different treatments in the actual experiment.
2 different groups of runners subjected to 2
different types of training

FACTOR/TREATMENT:
training method 1, training method 2= 2 levels

EXPERIMENTAL UNIT: 2 different groups of


runners
1) Comparison of groups: control (does not
receive treatment) and experimental (receive
treatment)
Ex:Effects of creatine on body composition
after 4 weeks of resistance training in
nonresistance trained humans

Experimental gp: 22.8 g Creatine


Control gp: placebo
2) Manipulation of the IV
The IV maybe established as one form of the
variable versus another

Ex: Effect of carbohydrate and protein


ingestion on performance
The IV may be established as the presence vs
absence of a particular form.
Ex: Creatine and placebo to determine
differences in body composition

The IV may be established as varying degrees


of the same form
Ex: The use of different dosage of creatine to
determine its effect on body composition (ie. 5
g/kg body weight vs 8 g/kg body weight)
3) Randomization
Subjects are randomly assigned to groups to
eliminate extraneous variables

-Randomization….
a)Takes place before the experiment begins
b)Is a process of assigning individuals to
groups not a result of such distribution
c)Forms groups that are equivalent and differ
only by chance.
1)Replication
Repetition of the experiment on many
experimental units

Functions:
 To provide for an estimate of experimental
error which is used for test of significance
 To improve the precision of an experiment
by reducing standard error of the mean

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 Precision: the degree to which repeated
measurements under unchanged condition show
the same results. (reliability)-
repeatability/reproducibility
 Accuracy: closeness to the absolute or true value of
the quantity measured (validity)
 Coefficient of variation: indicates the variation
within the data set
 the results of a single experiment, applied to a small number of
objects or subjects, should not be accepted without question.
Randomly selecting two individuals from a group of four and
applying a treatment with "great success" generally will not impress
the public or convince anyone of the effectiveness of the treatment.
To improve the significance of an experimental result, replication,
the repetition of an experiment on a large group of subjects, is
required. If a treatment is truly effective, the long-term averaging
effect of replication will reflect its experimental worth. If it is not
effective, then the few members of the experimental population who
may have reacted to the treatment will be void/invalid by the large
numbers of subjects who were unaffected by it. Replication reduces
variability in experimental results, increasing their significance and
the confidence level with which a researcher can draw conclusions
about an experimental factor.
2) Randomization
A process of assigning the treatments among
the experimental units such that every
treatment has equal chance of being assigned
to any experimental unit
Functions:
To provide the random sample of observation

To remove the bias of assigning treatments to

favorable experimental units


Methods of randomization:
Draw lots: flip coin, name in the bowl and draw lots

Software: computer assisted random sequences

Table of random digits: blind folded subject choose

a number from a table


3) Local controls
Includes all practices or techniques used to
minimize the experimental errors which
includes balancing, blocking, and grouping of
experimental units

Techniques:
Use an appropriate experimental design
Compare several treatments
 Blocking – technique used to increase the
precision of an experiment by breaking the
experiment into homogeneous segments
(blocks) in order to control any potential
block to block variability ( several training
methods, several drugs, several teaching
modules etc ). Any effects on the
experimental results as a result of the
blocking factor will be identified and
minimized.
 Suppose that some Vo2max measurements
will be made in the morning and some in the
afternoon.
 If you anticipate a difference between

morning and afternoon measurements:


◦ Ensure that within each period, there are equal
numbers of subjects in each treatment group.
◦ Take account of the difference between periods in
your analysis.

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• 20 males and 20 females.
• Half to be treated; the other half left
untreated.
• Can only work with 4 subjects per day.

Question: How to assign individuals to


treatment groups and to days?

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 If you can (and want to), fix a variable.
◦ e.g., use only male athletes from one category of
sport.
 If you don’t fix a variable, stratify it.
◦ e.g., use both male and female athletes, and stratify
with respect to sports.
 If you can neither fix nor stratify a variable,
randomize it.

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 Blinding
◦ Measurements made by people can be influenced
by unconscious biases.
◦ Ideally, dissections and measurements should be
made without knowledge of the treatment applied.
 Internal controls
◦ It can be useful to use the subjects themselves as
their own controls (e.g., consider the response after
vs. before treatment).
◦ Why? Increased precision.

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 Representativeness
◦ Are the subjects/specimen you are studying really
representative of the population you want to study?
◦ Ideally, your study material is a random sample
from the population of interest.

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Characteristics of good experiments:
 Unbiased  Able to estimate
◦ Randomization uncertainty
◦ Blinding
◦ Replication
 High precision ◦ Randomization
◦ Uniform material
◦ Replication
◦ Stratification
 Simple
◦ Protect against mistakes

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