Question

A manufacturing engineer wants to compare the comfort provided by three different designs of automobile seats (Tanner, Hauptel, & Fauver). One way of evaluating comfort is to measure the skin conductivity of drivers using these seats. She randomly selects four drivers to use the Tanner seat, another four to use Hauptel, and the remaining four to use Fauver. She then has them drive over the same course and measures their skin conductivity during the ride.

a) Is this a designed experiment or a correlational study? Explain.

b) What are the observational units?

c) What is(are) the independent variable(s)?

d) What are the levels of each independent variable?

e) What kind of variable is the dependent variable (qualitative or quantitative)? f) What is the dependent variable?

Answer 1

a) Is this a designed experiment or a correlational study? Explain

It is a designed experiment. Because the engineer selected four drivers each to the three types of seats. After the experiment, she then observes the skin conductivity during the ride.

b). What are the observational units?

The observational units are the 12 drivers, four in each kind of seats.

c) What is(are) the independent variable(s)?

The independent variable is the types of seats, three in number.

d). What are the levels of each independent variable?

There are three levels of the independent variables called types of seats the Tanner seat, Hauptel, and Fauver.

e) What kind of variable is the dependent variable (qualitative or quantitative)?

The dependent variable is quantitative.

f) What is the dependent variable?

The dependent variable is skin conductivity.