Paula examined differences in college persistence between students who took the SAT either before their junior year or during their junior year of high school. She compared students with the same score and found that students had taken the SAT before their junior year of high school were more likely to stay in college than those who had taken the SAT during their junior year. Paula employed which method for controlling the extraneous variable, performance, in her study?
A) Matching
B) Comparing homogeneous subgroups
C) Analysis of covariance ANCOVA)
D) Manipulation of independent variable

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

By matching students with the same score, Paula was able to control for the extraneous variable of performance. This method is called matching and is a commonly used technique in research to control for confounding variables. Option B) Comparing homogeneous subgroups, could also be a valid choice, but matching is more specific to controlling for extraneous variables. Option C) Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) is a statistical technique that can be used to control for covariates, but it is not clear if Paula used ANCOVA in her study. Option D) Manipulation of independent variable is not relevant to controlling extraneous variables.

Paula Examined Differences in College Persistence Between Students Who Took