A local cheese producer feels their biggest problem is to get consumers acquainted with their product. An experiment is run in which 50 free samples of cheddar cheese are distributed to a randomly selected sample of families. This group and another group of 1,000 randomly selected people to which free samples had not been given are both sent coupons for the purchase of cheddar cheese at a discount at local grocery stores. The keyed coupons show that 387 coupons are returned from the group receiving the free sample and 130 are received from the other group.
Answer the following three questions on the basis of this information.
-Which type of experimental design does not allow the investigation of individual cases of change?

Question

A local cheese producer feels their biggest problem is to get consumers acquainted with their product. An experiment is run in which 50 free samples of cheddar cheese are distributed to a randomly selected sample of families. This group and another group of 1,000 randomly selected people to which free samples had not been given are both sent coupons for the purchase of cheddar cheese at a discount at local grocery stores. The keyed coupons show that 387 coupons are returned from the group receiving the free sample and 130 are received from the other group.
 Answer the following three questions on the basis of this information.
-Which type of experimental design does not allow the investigation of individual cases of change?

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The experiment is designed to study the effect of product acquaintance on the purchase of cheddar cheese. The group that received the free samples is more likely to be acquainted with the product and therefore more likely to purchase it. The other group, which did not receive the free samples, is less likely to be acquainted with the product and therefore less likely to purchase it. The experiment does not allow the investigation of individual cases of change because it is not possible to determine which individuals in the group that received the free samples actually purchased the product.

A Local Cheese Producer Feels Their Biggest Problem Is to Get