Subject
Grade
Concept/Content
observational and experimental studies
Elaboration
- Observational studies involve observation of a sample from the target population, without intervention.
- Observational studies can include surveys and questionnaires.
- When are observational studies necessary and appropriate?
- What are the limitations of observation studies?
- Lurking variables can impact conclusions.
- The wording of survey items can incur bias.
- How should we design an observational study to explore an appropriate research question?
- Experimental studies involve intervention for collection of data.
- Randomization of treatments to experimental units can eliminate issues with lurking variables and bias.
- There may be practical and ethical concerns (e.g., long-duration studies on smoking, effectiveness of medications).
- How should we design an experiment to explore an appropriate research question?
keywords
observational
experimental