Question

Studies have shown children who sleep with a night light are more likely to become nearsighted than those who sleep in a dark room (Quinn, Shin, Maguire, and Stone, 1999

a.         Is it legitimate to conclude that sleeping with a night light causes a higher rate of nearsightedness? Explain.

b.         Suppose that a student is asked to identify a confounding variable and responds, “Genetics, because nearsighted parents tend to have nearsighted children.” Explain why this argument is incomplete, and then complete it.

Answer 1

A.

Before considering the legitimacy of the conclusion we need to look at the sampling technique and size, the confidence level of the study and other statistical parameters to be sure of the robustness of the claim and if the study is robust then we can say that statistically sleeping with a night light causes a higher rate of nearsightedness.

B.

A confounding variable should interact with both independent and dependent variable and in the given statement the confounding variable interacts with only the dependent variable and we should add that "genetically prone nearsighted children tend to keep the night light while sleeping"

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