A psychology instructor studying the effects of the order of test items on test scores gave half the class a test in which the item order reflected the order in the textbook. The other half received the same questions in random order. What was the dependent variable in this experiment?
A) the order of the items
B) the method used to assign participants to groups
C) the students' scores on the two versions of the test
D) the difficulty of the items on the test

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The dependent variable in this experiment is the students' scores on the two versions of the test. The researcher is testing whether the order of test items affects test scores, and the dependent variable is the measure of those scores. The order of items (A), method of assigning participants (B), and difficulty of items (D) are all independent variables in this experiment.

A Psychology Instructor Studying the Effects of the Order of Test