Professor Jones has observed a correlation between students sitting in the front of the room and getting better grades in her classes.In order to conduct an "experiment" on this,Professor Jones could
A)collect data on student study habits.
B)assign students randomly to seats.
C)adjust her data for overall grade point average.
D)obtain similar data from other professors and classes.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Randomly assigning students to seats would allow Professor Jones to control for any other variables that may be contributing to the correlation between seat location and grades. This experimental design would provide a clearer understanding of the causal relationship between sitting in the front of the room and academic performance. Collecting data on study habits or adjusting for grade point average would not manipulate the independent variable (seat location) and therefore would not constitute an experiment. Obtaining similar data from other classes or professors would only provide additional evidence for the correlation, but would not manipulate the variable of interest.

Professor Jones Has Observed a Correlation Between Students Sitting in the Front