Conducting Experiments, Essay Example

In a pilot study Dr. Somnez conducted a manipulation check and found no significant difference between the experimental conditions.

1.  Should she continue with the experiment?

The strength of manipulation in the early stages of experiments is extremely important, as they are able to demonstrate the relationship between variables. Therefore, if there is no significant difference between the experimental conditions, he should not continue with the experiment. According to the experimental principle described by Chapter 6, the manipulation should be as strong as it is possible, given that the experiment’s  ethical principles are not affected.

2. What should she do next?

Dr. Gul should redesign the experimental conditions in order to make them  (as independent variables) more significant and relevant to the study. As an example, he should focus on the impact of the environment, or the conditions, depending on the dependent variable created by the research design. If he is – for example  –  creating a study about students’ perception of classroom learning, he should change some important aspects, such as lighting and temperature in the room to define the correlation between those variables.

3. Explain your recommendation to Dr. Gul.

The main aim of the study should be to assess how variable one affects variable two, therefore, it is important to create strong manipulations. As an example, recently researchers have created artificial windows suitable for protected rooms in hospitals, such as MRI scan rooms (MPS). The main belief that the product is based on is that the presence of a window and natural looking light in the room would improve patient outcomes, mood, and confidence. In order to determine whether or not there is a connection between the variables (window and patient experience), the researchers can use two significantly different environments to measure the dependent variable (patient experience). In the pretest and manipulation check, the conditions will be significantly different, therefore, the dependent variable will be likely to be impacted by them.

Works Cited

MPS “MPS Shines New Light On Diagnostic Procedures And Radiation Treatments” 2015. Web.