Question

which of the following research situations is most likely to use an independent measures design?
a. evaluate the development of verbal skills between age 2 and age 3 for a sample of girls
b. evaluate the difference in self esteem between student athletes and non athletes
c. evaluate the effectiveness of a pain reliever by measuring how much pain is reduced after taking the medication
d. evaluate the effectiveness of a cholesterol medication by comparing cholesterol levels before and after the medication

Answer 1

An independent measures design is a research method in which multiple experimental groups are used and participants are only in one group. Each participant is only in one condition of the independent variable during the experiment.

The following are the situations when we can use independent measures of design-

a. evaluate the development of verbal skills between age 2 and age 3 for a sample of girls
b. evaluate the difference in self esteem between student athletes and non athletes.

(As in both the cases we need separate groups )