In one study, a large number of patients were assigned to practice transcendental meditation or to complete an educational program.The transcendental meditation group experienced improvement on a number of health measures relative to the education group.The researchers are now designing a new study to rule out alternative explanations for the findings.Which of the following changes to the study design would best address the main alternative explanations?
A)Increase the sample size.
B)Add a relaxation control group.
C)Recruit a more representative sample.
D)Change the health measures that were used in the first study.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Adding a relaxation control group would allow the researchers to determine if the improvements seen in the transcendental meditation group were specifically due to that practice or simply to the act of engaging in a relaxation activity. This would help rule out alternative explanations for the findings.

In One Study, a Large Number of Patients Were Assigned