Experiment Basics

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1. Explain what an experiment is and recognize examples of studies that are experiments and studies that are not experiments.
2. Explain what internal validity is and why experiments are considered to be high in internal validity.
3. Explain what external validity is and evaluate studies in terms of their external validity.
4. Distinguish between the manipulation of the independent variable and control of extraneous variables and explain the importance of each.
5. Recognize examples of confounding variables and explain how they affect the internal validity of a study.