Twelve people,who suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome,volunteer to take part in an experiment to see if shark fin extract will increase one's energy level.Eight of the volunteers are men and four are women.Half of the volunteers are to be given shark fin extract twice a day and the other half a placebo twice a day.We wish to make sure that four men and two women are assigned to each of the treatments,so we decide to use a block design with the men forming one block and the women the other.For which reason is a block design appropriate in this experiment?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

A block design is appropriate in this experiment because the researchers believe that men and women will respond differently to the treatments. By creating separate blocks for men and women, the researchers can ensure that an equal number of each gender are assigned to each treatment group. This will help to control for any potential gender-related differences in response to the shark fin extract or the placebo.

Twelve People,who Suffer from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome,volunteer to Take Part