A researcher interested in applied work in the field of education wonders if the possible benefits of using computers during lectures outweighs the possible drawbacks. Anecdotally, they've noticed that students who use computers often look distracted while they're teaching. What would be the most suitable method to determine whether a causal relationship exists between computer use and performance in a course?
A)survey students to determine how computer use relates to course performance
B)randomly assign some students to use a computer and some to not in an experiment
C)ask students which method they find most effective
D)None of these response options would be suitable to address that research question.
E)any of the above methods could determine causal relationships

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Randomly assigning students to conditions (computer use vs. no computer use) allows for the control of extraneous variables and is the most appropriate method to establish a causal relationship between computer use and course performance.

A Researcher Interested in Applied Work in the Field of Education