Question

Please write out in the space provided the answer for each question. Unless it explicitly instructs you to do so, you do not have to use complete sentences if you can present a coherent answer in shorter form. Please write clearly.

The manager of a large, one-room warehouse in which computer equipment is packed into boxes and shipped out to retailers has heard that different colors on the walls and different types of background music affect work productivity and attendance. Since they were planning on painting the warehouse anyway, he decides to conduct an experiment by painting the packing side of the warehouse red and the shipping side of the warehouse light-blue. In addition, he decides that on Mondays they will play easy listening music, on Tuesdays they will play country music, and on Wednesdays they will play classic rock music. After several weeks they found that the productivity was better on the shipping side than on the packing side, whereas the attendance was equal on both sides. They also found that both productivity and attendance was better on Tuesdays and Wednesdays than on Mondays. They concluded that they should paint the entire warehouse light-blue, and that they would alternate between country music and classic rock music.

In the space below, identify the dependent variables:

identify 2 confounding variables in the study above and tell how you would change the experiment to control for each confound:

Answer 1

(a)

The dependent variable:

Work productivity and attendence

(b)

Confounding variables:

(i) Efficiency of the workers: If the efficiency of the varous workers is not the same, it will affect the research objective of studying the impact of color and music on productivity. To control for this confound, select all workers with the same efficiency.

(ii) Quality of the tools. If the quality of the tools used by the various workers is not the same, it will affect the research objective of studying impact of color and music on productivity. To control for this confound, select all tools with the same quality.